A Mother's Love

Thought I would share a story I wrote. It's not true but it could have very well happened for all of you that know my wonderful mother. Enjoy.
A Mother’s Love

Christmas was coming. Mom was busy sewing dresses for the girls, jeans and shirts for the boys. These new clothes would have to last us all year. We didn’t mind too much because mom was an extraordinary seamstress. She would create patterns to make us the latest fashions after looking through the current catalogs.
This Christmas was extra special for me, I had been asked to sing a solo in the school’s choir concert. I could hardly wait to see what my new dress would look like. I was so excited. About a week before the concert, mom took me aside and told me she had run out of fabric and didn’t have any money to buy more fabric for my new fancy dress. She said she had made over some of the older girls’ dresses so I would have something new to wear. I pouted and said in a whinny voice, “Why does this always happen to me?” Being the last of four girls, I ended up with all the hand me downs, and never got anything new, or so it seemed to me. I ran off to my room crying, feeling sorry for myself.
All week I avoided my mom. I would only talk to her if I had to and then it was in short statements like no or yes. I was hurt. I didn’t realize at the time that mom was hurting as well. She wanted to make that special dress for me because she knew how important it was for me. She worried and stewed but didn’t know what to do because they just didn’t have the money for extra fabric. She had all the scraps from the other dresses and shirts, but that wouldn’t make a very pretty dress. Then, the night before the concert she kneeled to pray, asking for inspiration and pleading for help. As she slipped into bed, she noticed the quilt covering the bed. On the back of the quilt was the most beautiful red material. She treasured this quilt because her mom had made it for her as a wedding gift and it was a part of her mom. Suddenly, she knew what she needed do. She took her scissors and started taking apart the back of the quilt, making sure not to ruin the front of it. She worked until the early morning hours taking apart the quilt and making a beautiful red dress.
That night mom asked me to come into her room. At this point, I had resigned myself to wearing the old dress mom had altered and fixed up as best she could. It was okay, but it wasn’t what I had wanted. I went into the room and told mom I was sorry for the way I had behaved. She talked to me about how she felt and how she had prayed for inspiration. Just then, she pulled out the most vibrant, gorgeous red dress and said, “I love you!” I felt like a royal princess! She never told me where the material had come from and I didn’t think to ask because I was just so excited to get something that was my very own.
Throughout the years my mom taught me many skills I put to use as a new mother with very little money. Years later as my sisters and I were going through mom’s things after her passing, I found an old quilt top with a scrap of the red fabric from my beloved dress. I asked my sisters why the quilt top had never been quilted and why there was a piece of material from my Christmas dress pinned to it. It was then they told me the story about that special Christmas dress. That evening as I looked at the red dress still hanging in my closet and the old quilt top I now held in my arms, the tears flowed freely. I once again realized how deep a mother’s love is for her children.