Photo: Courtesy of BHLDN.
At first, the premise of this news story read a bit too, well, rom-com perfect. A Kent, WA woman's wedding dress was stolen from the trunk of her car on the day of her wedding. She called 911 in tears and on the other line she found a phone operator who was not only willing to lend away her own precious wedding dress to the bride-to-be, but the two women happened to be the exact same size. The operator had the dress rushed to the woman and saved the wedding day.
Yes, this almost-nightmare is a mere Katherine Heigl away from a girls-night-in film fest (may we suggest The Sisterhood Of The Traveling Wedding Dress for the title?). However, the thing that truly touched us about this story was that it wasn't some scripted plot line or fairy tale. 911 operator Candice jumped into action without any provocation — in a seriously above-and-beyond fashion.
In most cases, an emergency-response operator is as likely to offer you a back-up wedding dress from her personal closet as she would be to come rushing over to lend you a Q-tip because your mascara is running. And, while we can't go as far as to say that this operator saved a life on this day, we can't help feel a bit warm and fuzzy knowing that there are Candices in the world who feel a sense of sisterhood and are willing to show this kind of very personal support for a stranger, stepping outside their typical, already demanding, call of duty.
So, here's to Candice and all the other first responders who are changing (and saving) lives on a daily basis. But also, let's have a round of applause for all the women paying it forward, reminding us that girl power is nothing without a little solidarity.