We walked out of the Houston Museum of Natural Science, squinting into the sunshine. I had never been in Houston in the summer and oh my, it was hot.
As we walked towards the parking lot we passed an interesting fountain where the water flowed down over the top, like water over a dam.
"I'm sure you don't remember," I said to my daughter, "One Mother's Day when you were two, we went to the [Chicago] Botanic Gardens. It was a warm day and there was a fountain that was flush with the ground around it. A lot of kids were running in and out of the water, so you and Ben joined them. You both ended up soaking wet and extremely happy. I remember that you were wearing matching outfits that I had made for you. You had a little dress and Ben had shorts. That was a good Mother's Day."
"I remember the clothes you made for us," Jamie said. "And dressing us alike -- hmm. But that's impressive that you made our clothes."
"I didn't make all your clothes! And you had a dress and Ben had shorts - not alike except for the fabric. And I used European patterns so you had the trendy Euro fashion."
Laughing. "Euro-chic!" Jamie exclaimed. (Incidentally, she still likes European fashion.)
"I made you several dresses -- remember your Chanukah dress?"
"Yes, my teachers were really impressed." I had gotten tired of so many little Christmas dresses for sale and no Chanukah dresses, cute or otherwise, so I made one.
Looking through the photo albums, there is no photo of the matching outfits, sadly. My memory is that it was a bright fabric with cute animals on it -- either cats or hippos. It's also clear from the photo albums that my children had plenty of store-bought clothes. How did I have time to sew with two little children and going back to school? I must have had more energy, but I also realized how quickly small children's clothing went together compared to adult clothing.
I haven't touched the sewing machine in a long time except for repairs. This is one of my summer goals - to complete a sewing project and make progress on a second. My children are in their 20s now, so no more cute Euro fashions for them.
My mom sewed quite a bit for me. I can remember those outfits so much more clearly than most of the store bought ones. And as you found, oddly there aren't that many pictures of those- why??!! They were such a testament to my mom's creativity and love. They are so clear in my mind, though, so in a way, it is better there aren't lots of pictures. They wouldn't seem as special.
ReplyDeleteI know my daughter remembers those dresses I made and both my kids remember the Halloween costumes! That could be a whole other post! I agree with you about the lack of pictures -- it does make them seem more special.
DeleteI too have memories of many outfits my mom made for me. Especially the ones for dances when I was in my teens. Loved your mention of the Houston Museum of Natural Science. We lived there when our kids were small and went there frequently, so I pictured that fountain perfectly.
ReplyDeleteThis was our first visit to the HMNS -- what a great museum! We spent our limited time at the dinosaur exhibit but I look forward to going back again!
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