The Easter Dress

Sharon sat at the kitchen table looking through her mother's photo albums which lay on the table in front of her. Her daughter, Emily, sat next to her coloring.

"Mommy, look!"

Sharon looked down at her daughter's coloring book.

"Oh, how pretty. I don't think I've ever seen a princess with green skin."

"She turned green cause she kissed the frog but she got a Prince so it was a good deal."

Sharon chuckled and turned back to the photo album. She turned the page and stared at a picture she had forgotten.

"Well, for heaven's sake..."

"What is it Mommy?" Emily looked over and Sharon pointed to the photograph.

"This is a picture of me when I was your age with my mommy at Easter. She made that dress for me. She made one for Auntie Liz, Auntie Becca and Auntie Jen too." Sarah's mother had passed away unexpectedly the previous Easter.

"I like the bonnet. It's just like Laura Ingalls'. Can I get one like that Mommy?"

"Well, I don't know if they sell them. My Mommy made the bonnet for me too. We'll have to see what we can do for you."

An idea took shape. It was only the end of the January. She'd have plenty of time to finish a dress and bonnet for Easter. It had been a couple of years since she'd done much more than mend tears and iron on patches but the sewing machine was still there. She could make a dress for her daughter like her mother had done for her. It would just take patience.

The pattern for the dress was the easiest part to locate. Just a trip down to the store and a quick flip through the pattern books. She chose a simple pattern, with a scoop neck, a-line and ruffle at the bottom, but finding just the right material was a good bit harder. Nothing seemed quite right to her. She finally found the perfect material. It was a pastel print of crocuses. Emily had declared them her favorite flower the spring before as they popped up across the yard where Sharon had haphazardly sown them in the fall.

One night after Emily had gone to bed, Sharon cleaned and oiled the sewing machine as her mother had taught her. It had taken her nearly two months to find the pattern and material and she still didn't have the bonnet pattern, but she needed to get started. Wanting to keep it a surprise for Emily, Sharon did not work on the dress until Emily had gone to bed each night. Unfortunately, this resulted in more than one seam needing to be redone. Between her chores around the house and barn and a two week substitute teaching stint, Sharon had little time or energy left for the dress. She simply couldn't imagine how her mother had done it all with six kids and no such things as a dishwasher or microwave.

*****

It was the Monday before Easter and Sharon was nearly finished with the dress. Sitting at the sewing machine late at night, she took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes. Mom, how on Earth did you do it all?

Her husband, James, walked in and stood behind her, rubbing her shoulders. "How's it coming?"

"I don't know. The dress is almost done but I still haven't found a pattern for the sunbonnet. I can try making it without one but I'm not sure how it'll turn out and I don't have that much time left, or fabric."

"Have you talked with my mother about it?"

"No... do you think she might have one?"

"She's got a cupboard full of patterns. Couldn't hurt to ask her."

The next evening down at the barn for milking, Sharon drew her mother-in-law, Laurel, aside.

"Laurel, do you have any idea where I could get a sunbonnet pattern? I wanted to make one to go with the dress I'm making Emily for Easter."

"Well now, I'm not sure. Seems like I might just have one. I'll look tonight," she promised.

Sharon finished the last touch on the dress that night and ironed it. It looked perfect. Thanks for the inspiration Mom.

At milking time the next day, Laurel handed Sharon a bag with a triumphant smile. "Just what you ordered. I can't wait to see Emily in it on Easter."

"Thanks Laurel," Sharon hugged her quickly then ran out to tuck the bag in the glove compartment of her car away from inquisitive little eyes.

That night she carefully cut and pinned. Fatigue caught up with Sharon before she started to sew, but there were a few days yet so she tucked the materials away and went up to bed.

The next morning Sharon woke bleary eyed, with swollen glands and a raspy throat. She rested throughout the day as much as a mother of a small child living on a dairy farm can. When Emily went to bed, Sharon fell into bed herself without a thought of the bonnet. The next day was no better. Sharon remembered a remedy her mother had used. She prepared a hot bath with a cup of vinegar in it, got in, and soaked, sweating the cold out of her system. When she was done soaking, she wrapped up and slipped into bed.

The next morning dawned bright and early with Sharon feeling a good deal better. She had enough energy to finish the bonnet before falling into bed that night.

Easter morning Sharon carried the dress and bonnet into Emily's room.

"Oh Mommy!" Emily squealed. "Is it for me?"

"Well, I don't think I could fit into it."

"My favorite flowers too," Emily said, fingering the dress.

"Let's get you ready for church."

Later that day at the Easter egg hunt outside the town hall, Laurel stood beside Sharon. They watched as the children hunted for plastic eggs holding small treasures of toys and candy.

"The dress and bonnet turned out beautifully," Laurel commented.

"Yeah, Emily's very happy with it... just like I was with mine. I guess, in some ways, I'm turning into my mother... and I'm very proud of that."