So what does one wear to her first D.A.R. meeting? Yes, this is my current quandary. Most of my knowledge of the Daughters of the American Revolution came from watching Gilmore Girls, and that certainly can’t be a good thing. . .

Although I haven’t joined the Daughters as of yet, I have been considering it since one of my second cousins joined earlier this year (and I didn’t even know I was eligible). She has done most of the legwork required to join, like names, relations and birth and death certificates, so that makes my path to membership quite a bit easier. 

That being said, I will be dining with ladies who have direct ancestral ties to the Revolutionary War, are grand supporters of patriotic endeavors and are advocates of historical preservation. Again, I ask, what do I wear?

I have little to nothing that resembles Emily Gilmore; in other words, no red pantsuit with gold buttons or crisply ironed white collared numbers with closed-toed pumps. Yikes! Do I need to adhere to the no-sandals-after-Labor Day rule; and if I could wear sandals, do mine qualify? My many pairs of open-toed shoes are mostly just sequined and beaded flip flops in disguise. I don’t even own a quality pair of dress pants these days — I ‘ve been a stay-at-home-mom for six years, for goodness sakes (and if they were in my closet somewhere, they probably wouldn’t fit).

Oh the quandary. . . just to pay tribute to my great, great, great, great grandfather and claim my right to this country’s history. I’m proud that he served his country in such a marvelous and historical way, but as I ponder my pants I can’t help but feel amazingly inadequate and completely superficial. So I’ve decide to pull up my big girl panties (no matter the style), pick out something nice to wear, and begin on a path that would make my very great grandpa proud.