The Dress

I have been wanting to share the story of this picture for a long time. This is the story of The Dress. It all started with a phone call. It ended with wonderful memories and thankful hearts for the blessings of family.

One night in January 2006 Mike's Great-Grandma Gingerich called and invited us all over. Wishing we could spend more time with her we went right over. After a few minutes of small talk Grandma (Edna) asked if Mike recognized the dress that was hanging nearby. We wondered why he should recognize a little girl's pink dress. Then Grandma said, "Well, maybe not the dress. Look at the fabric." As soon as Mike went over to look at it you could see the glow in his face. "Was this my mom's?" he asked. Grandma explained that it was. Mike's mom, Esther, had passed away when Mike was 8 years old. It was such a sad thing but Mike is filled with fond memories of her. Grandma explained that this fabric had been from a dress that Esther had made. She took it apart and made a dress for Sydney out of it. She even explained to us that the hem was in the dress so permanently she couldn't iron it out. Grandma ended up sewing the hem back in, so the hem of Sydney's dress is the same one that Esther sewed in all those years ago. Of course, this meant the world to us and there were tears all around. Grandma joined Esther in Heaven two years ago this month, so I felt it was especially appropriate to share this story now.

Sydney wearing the dress:

Esther Sommers