Easter Dresses

This morning as I was getting ! ready for church I realized that I hadn't bought her (or made her, for that matter) a special easter dress. She's growing like a weed and I've just been keeping up at keeping her in any clothes at all. I went around a few weeks ago and bought a bunch of summery dresses for our trip to New Orleans and pending our return home but I hadn't thought specifically of Easter. As I was grabbing for her pants and onesie, I thought better of it and pulled out one of her pink dresses. Still, it was cold so I went ahead and slid on some pink pants.

When I was a girl, my sister and I always had Easter dresses. They were made by my grandma or by mom. They were fiercely impractical for Easter but I've come to realize that that is something of a rule. I remember many Easters of waking up at crazy silly hours (something like 5a.m. a lot of years), dressing quickly and off to church for Easter Sunrise Service. We had to be there early because mom was always helping with the breakfast. And then the WORST thing possible would routinely happen. The pastor would get the inspiration that we needed to have Easter Sunrise communion outside. Easter in Illinois typically means morning temperature in the upper 40s. Trotting outside to stand in a circle for communion is all good and well for men- they're dressed in pants and shoes without holes. Women and girls are dressed in thin cotton dresses and sandals. We could have woolen stockings on and it would still be freezing. So, yeah, I have bad memories of singing an extra chorus of He is Risen while freezing. Yes, I could have worn a coat, but the coatrack isn't in the path of the door and its encouraged that we all go out together. Terrible. Freezing.

I've learned something over the years though. Easter rolls around and women find new dresses, new sandals, shed stockings and coats. And there we have it. Women traipsing into the church with no sleeves. Girls with poofy dresses as blue as the ribbon on their dress. Numb, the whole lot. And so again, I wore a skirt and sandals. I did have the good sense to put on a sweater. Instead of little pink bloomers, ! got a footy pants under her dress.

Easter was a hard day all the way around. We were at church for Sunrise service. Then breakfast, then regular church and Sunday School. We were allowed a bit of candy from our Easter basket but by time we got home we were hungry and had the sugar shakes. Then after lunch we ate more candy. I associate Easter with feeling vaguely sick from being too tired and having too much sugar. Easter normally meant that I was in trouble by 4:30 in the afternoon.

So this morning I allowed @ one piece of candy and made him sit for a solid breakfast. Then there was no more candy until after a solid lunch and then candy intake has been limited. I've given him plastic Easter eggs with candy which I'm hoping encourage portion control. So far, so good. We'll see.