Easter Dresses

A couple of times a year Costco carries little girls' party dresses for a great price. I buy one for each of our grand-girls around Easter time. Satin bows, tulle skirts, pleats, tucks, ruffles--is there a little girl anywhere who wouldn't enjoy having one of these dresses?  Costco carries a selection of 10 or 12 to pick from. They are colorful and fluffy and pretty in an old-fashioned way. Right now I can't find a photo of any grand-girls wearing them, so I stole these photos off the internet.   

This year was a little interesting. One of our grand-girls, MSP, marches to a different drummer. From a very young age she has been creative, outgoing, self-directed, and firm in her likes and dislikes. When I pulled out the dresses I had bought for each of them, this girl did not oooh or aaah. She didn't even smile. Not only did she not smile, but tears welled in her eyes and it was obvious she was trying to blink them back in. She was working hard to not disappoint the giver of the gift.

MSP was so not enamored of the dress. Finally she was able to blurt out a poignant teary declaration, "It doesn't fit my personality!" Yeah. An eight-year-old who is so in touch with herself that she could make that statement . . .

She came along on a Costco trip to return the dress. We browsed for a new one without success. But then, on a different rack she spotted a funkier style, one that does fit her personality. It had a peasanty-country-casual feel to it, the type of dress that could go with sandals or cowboy boots or whatever. We brought it home, she tried it on, she was a happy camper. Wish I had a photo of her smile when she wore it later that day!