The dress

I was cleaning in our basement the other day. I happened across a little dress in a box of dolls. When I was a little girl- I'm thinking about 5, I got this beautiful baby doll for Christmas. She was in a white satin christening gown with a matching satin bonnet. The doll was the likeness of newborn. I loved that doll so much, I named her Anna.
Well, spring came and there was a day we were at my Grandma Masta's house. My cousin Jamie lived next door. He was a stinker to say the least. Well he got a hold of my doll and buried it in the black nutrient rich dirt beneath my Grandma's porch. I about died! The body of the doll was cloth, but had hard plastic arms and legs so you couldn't just wash it normally. Well, with my mom's help, we got it cleaned up pretty well. I'm not sure what happened with the dress, that was last I recall having it so I'm not sure if it was ruined or not. So for a long time, I had a naked baby doll. I still pretended to feed it and kept it in a blanket I think. I told that doll my troubles.
Well later on, I still had the beloved doll. When we went to live with my Aunt for a while during my parents divorce, someone saw a need for her to have a dress. That someone was my Grandma Ott. She found some pretty white fabric with pink hearts and little blue flowers. I sat with her while she sewed it. She put elastic on the wrists and neck and a pretty eyelet trim on the bottom. I'm holding that dress as I write this. I showed it to Gram yesterday, she remembered making it. I don't know if she realized what that dress meant to me.
Aren't Grandmas just great?! They see something different in their grandchildren's eyes than their busy parents do. They take the time for the little things. My own parents, my kid's grandparents take the time to do something new with my kids. It could be just making a card house, teaching them to knit, ice skating, playing kings in the corner, etc. When you are a parent, somedays are just about getting the essentials done without a moment to do those little things. That's why I think God blessed us with grandparents. To make up for the little things that get missed. One afternoon, one tiny dress made this girl's heart happy and a lasting memory.