port angeles, 1978

From my mother's closet

In elementary school, my mom read an article about college students working at national parks during school vacation. Years later, she wrote out notes on her electric typewriter and mailed them to various park restaurants looking for a serving job. She finally heard back from the folks at Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park and she headed west for the summer. She worked at a burger joint and on her days off, she hiked and sometimes caught rides with friends into Port Angeles, where she found fabric and a dress pattern. My grandmother helped her finish sewing it up when she got home to Louisiana because "she's never been good with sewing zippers." 

It's one of the most magical things I own. There's something about a twirly floral dress that makes me feel like a prairie princess in the best way. Especially when something is handmade, there's a certain lore that I put on with it. Today, I wear around my mother's creative care as well as my own sparkly, sweaty memories.