On the Fourth Day of a Feminine Christmas

Blue dresses such as the one above always catch my eye at Christmas. I had one once, that very color – not navy or a jewel blue – but a beautiful creamy azure that perhaps a queen would wear…

My grandmother made me such a dress to wear on Christmas day. The velvet was real and had a firm hand, not a faux velvet. She trimmed the neck, short sleeves, and the hem with snowy white lace. And down the front were three perfect glass buttons, the very color of the ocean with tiny yellow marigolds inside. The dress itched just a bit from the lace at the sleeves but even at age seven, I knew I was wearing something special.

That dress has lived on in my memory and every time I see a frock in the same color, which usually happens at Christmastime, I remember mine and the hands that lovingly made it for me.

I only wish I knew the fate of my lovely dress – it was the one that wasn’t saved for some reason and it should have been. But a year or two ago, I was pawing through my button chest looking for a snap for a pair of pants, and what do you suppose I found? One perfect little glass button with a bright marigold winking from inside… And it was Christmastime too.