I had thought I was going to be on my own on Sunday with a trip back to Memphis to spend the holiday with my family out of the question, but a Modern Friend surprised me by inviting me to church and brunch.

Going to church meant I’d be going to the First Presbyterian Church. You may remember that I’m Catholic, and I was well aware there’s one huge difference between Catholics and Protestants, (I mean besides the Pope): Catholics have a hard time dressing up for church for some reason. Presbyterians do not.

Since I was a sorority gal in my previous life, I have an irrational fear of not being dressed appropriately for any given situation. And since I was a sorority gal in my previous life, I keep in my wardrobe at all times at least one or two appropriate outfits for any given situation.

I hadn’t stressed about what I was going to wear to mass before my plans changed on Friday night because I had plenty of springy skirts that I could easily pair with a plain shirt and my denim jacket and be totally Easter Sunday-in-a-Catholic-church appropriate. But a quick glance through the closet revealed only three Easter Sunday-in-a-Presbyterian-church-caliber dresses.

Fortunately I had the foresight to try them on on Saturday afternoon. Unfortunately (or I suppose fortunately) with the 27 pounds I’ve lost in the past 12 months, not a single one fit. I mean, they weren’t even close enough to fitting that I could fudge it a bit. Despite my best brainstorming efforts, there was nothing I could do to improvise from what I had on hand. Of course, it’s not like I need my arm to be twisted to go shopping.

That was Saturday afternoon around 3 p.m. I had dinner and a movie plans starting around 6 p.m. I had already planned to spend that window buying new eyeglasses. You do the math.

Now, the Modern Mom taught me to do many things well, and near the top of that list is shop under pressure. So after locating and ordering my new eyeglasses at LensCrafters, I had the standard ‘about an hour’ window to locate a new dress. When shopping on a deadline, you have to know where you can go to have the greatest possibility of success: Old Navy and Gap work for basic staples, J.Crew for sweaters and Dillards for shoes.

There was one store that I knew I could find an Easter Sunday-in-a-Protestant church caliber dress: Ann Taylor. I don’t like shopping in Ann Taylor, a fact I was reminded of when the sales associate asked me if I needed a “wardrobing” room to try on the dresses. But wouldn’t you know, I was so right about locating church-worthy dresses at Ann Taylor that I found two of them and in a panic bought both with the argument that I’d take one back. Of course I didn’t actually mean that. 😉

It was worth it. I don’t know if I made the right impression, but I at least didn’t get that sick-to-my-stomach feeling that I always get when I’m not dressed appropriately. And church and brunch were lovely as well, much better than my original plan of dining on Dunkin’ Donuts for lunch.