When Life Strips Away Your Control
What I learned after realizing I had no pants an hour before a wedding
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I’m such a planner. The night before a trip, you’ll find me laying out clothes, checking my bag twice, and making sure I have everything I need. So when we had to drive two hours for our friend’s son’s wedding, I was ready. Bag packed, schedule mapped out, everything under control.
Or so I thought.
It’s 3:06 PM on the wedding day. I’ve worked a half-day, made the drive with our friends Chris and Amy, and now it’s time to get ready for the 4:00 PM ceremony. I pull on my crisp white dress shirt, grab my sports coat, and reach for my pants.
Except… there are no pants.
I stare at the dry cleaner’s plastic bag. Dress shirt? Yep. Sports coat? Check. Belt, socks, shoes? All there. But pants? Nope.
“Susanna,” I call to my wife, panic creeping in. “I have no pants.”
She looks up from doing her hair. “You’re kidding. You don’t have any pants?”
“I don’t have any pants.”
It’s now 3:08 PM. I grab my phone and call Chris, our friend who drove. “Chris, I have no pants. I need your keys. There’s a Target a couple of miles away. I’m standing outside your room now.”
I take the elevator and sprint to the parking lot, heart pounding. It’s 3:10 now, and the wedding is at 4:00. Then I hit traffic. My palms were sweating, and I could feel the clock ticking louder with every second we weren’t moving. That’s when I spot Macy’s.
I navigate through traffic and run into the store wearing my dress shirt, shorts, and flip-flops. There are sale signs everywhere, but I don’t care. I need black pants, size 34/34, NOW.
Here’s the problem: my vision isn’t what it used to be, and I literally cannot read the size tags. I’m frantically asking Macy’s employees for help.
“I am late for a wedding and I need pants. Can you help me find a 34/34?”
An older gentleman and a young woman start helping me search through the racks. “Do you think these Michael Kors will work for you, sir?” the gentleman asks.
“Are they 34/34?” I ask desperately.
“I don’t know, I didn’t look at the size.”
Argh.
Finally, I spot a 34/32. Two inches short, but I’ll take high-water pants over no pants.
The same woman who helped me look through the racks is now helping me check out.
“Sir, would you like to donate to our children’s charity today?”
I’m bouncing on my toes, heart racing. “No, I just need to check out.”
She punches in more instructions on the cash register.
“Would you like to apply for a Macy’s credit card? You could save 20%…”
“NO. I’m late for a wedding. Can you PLEASE just ring it up?”
I change in their dressing room. The pants fit around the waist, showing some ankle, but they’ll work. I race back to the car at 3:34 PM, still 3-4 minutes from the hotel.
I call Chris: “I’m en route! Tell Susanna to bring all my stuff downstairs. I’m changing in the car.”
I pull up at 3:38, engine running. There is my pit crew: Chris, Amy, and Susanna with my shoes, socks, and sports coat ready.
Chris drives while I finish getting dressed in the passenger seat, telling them the entire Macy’s adventure. We’re all laughing while I’m trying to tie my tie and pull on my socks.
“I think we’ll be there at 4:02!” Susanna says.
We’re flying toward the venue when we make the final turn and get stuck behind a tractor-trailer going 5 mph down a two-lane road.
“Come on, man!” Chris says. “This is a wedding emergency!”
Waze is telling us we’re getting close. One mile away. Half a mile away. Wait, there’s the entrance! Amy and Susanna jump out and run, while Chris and I park in a field and speed-walk across the grass.
We slide into our seats at 3:58 PM. Two minutes to spare.
As the music starts, the groom’s parents, our friends Grant and Trish, walk down the aisle, smiling at us, having no idea I just survived the most epic wardrobe crisis in wedding guest history.
The rest of the evening was spent laughing about “the time Tarek showed up to a wedding with no pants.”
I love having everything under control. But standing in that hotel room in shorts with 54 minutes until the ceremony, I had zero control. And honestly? That’s when something shifted.
I ditched perfection. There was no time to plan. I just had to move. Found a store. Asked strangers for help. Paid full price without thinking twice. Changed in a dressing room and then in a moving car.
I made a way without overthinking it because there was no other option!
I’ll come back to this story the next time I’m stuck on something at work or in life. When it feels like there’s no good option. Because here’s what that afternoon taught me: you’re more capable than you realize when you stop overthinking and just take the next step.
You won’t figure it all out before you start. You’ll ask people for help. You’ll improvise. You may look ridiculous at some point. But you’ll find a way.
What are you facing right now that feels impossible? Stop waiting for the perfect solution. Take one step. Ask someone for help. Do the next thing in front of you.
And when it doesn’t go perfectly? Well, at least you’ll have a great story.
This is so good Tarek! I can relate. When life throws a curve ball we still get to choose how we respond. My book release this weekend taught me that lesson once again. At some point you just need to chuckle and lean into the imperfection of it all and trust that God is doing something in the process.
Thank you for your continued vulnerability in these posts.
What a funny, well-written story that sets up your guidance beautifully!