About 1/3 of the way on interstate 10 between Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Houston, Texas is a town called Evangeline. My mother's name is Eva and my husband's paternal grandmother's name was Angelina. The name Evangeline is very southern. It is beautiful and Cajun and laden with history, mythology and deep personal meaning and it is also the name of this months dress.
Evangeline, although will full and still shredding at the seams and edges, is starting to reveal a sophisticated side by holding herself together at all the right places. These days she is becoming a wearable metaphor for the way I feel. Perhaps I should be honest here and admit to several things about myself.
1. I am Southern
2. I think of myself as not being from here.
3. I am completely torn about returning here whether to live or to visit. This alone causes me much anxiety and stress.
To add complication to this list, I also come from a rather complicated family. I realize that this segues into the perfect opportunity to describe my family, but I regret to admit that I will have to save the details for another time. Suffice to say, part of my family is well known by Houston standards, and the other half, well, they were immigrants. Oh and did I mention that after 35 years, my parents divorced? So the reality when I am down here has become less fun happy crazy and more obligatory with a lot of crazy on the side. As I try to keep it all together, I realize how intense and hyper crazy togetherness makes me, So I am allowing, inviting and honoring the fray. Everything is bound to unravel ( another pun for you language folks), but it's how we handle it that counts. When I think about my work as a conservation technician handling 100 year old painted theater backdrops, I remember our textile conservator, Michelle Pagan saying " when moving something bio-deteriorated and fragile you always want to hold it at the seams." As the big picture unravels and falls apart, if the seams are intact you can make it go and do what ever you need it to.
Tonight, Evangeline is teaching me that I have to reinforce the seams.
Wylie Sofia Garcia
www.wyliegarcia.com
dressthatmakesthewoman.blogspot.com
this comes to mind ;)
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryEXqzwrvVA
I love the "holding the seams" analogy. A "family" is held together by so many seams with so many stress points that require careful tending and handling.
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