re-visited .. 3 green dresses

after visiting gram(my mother-in-law) yesterday in the nursing home, i needed to look back on some positive experiences with her. the past several months have been trying ones for me. because of a fall and fractured knee cap, she has taken a drastic turn and become someone i don't recognize anymore... and so the three green dresses come into view...

before i had katie, i was so fearful- could i do this again after 9 years?- not only the experience of painful childbirth, but the actual early stages of childhood- diapers, car seats (i hate them to this day- sorry, josie) diaper bags, NURSING(didn't know what i was in for-shannon was bottle-fed-ooohhh), and the wrangling around with a newborn and a 9 yearold who had been an only child all her life. the excitement of my mother-in-law, helped me through this time . she called weekly, and supported me in every way. she was a wonderful grandmother to shannon- even though she had only met her the year before. i think she was a light in the storm for shannon who was caught between two worlds.
time passed and katie was born. my fears seem to disappear and i was truly smitten! i would lay awake at night sometimes waiting for her to wake up so i could feed her. both grandmothers visited for several weeks to help me with our newborn . i don't really remember much about those visits, but one year later, gram returned and that is the memory i have. after she had unpacked, she brought out 3 little green dresses for katie as a 1st birthday gift. i remember she layed them out on my bed and smoothed them and flaired the skirts out. then she stood back and beamed. her irish blood was proud of, not only those 3 green dresses, but the tiny, part irish baby that would wear them. i knew at that moment that something had changed in gram's and our lives- we were truly a family...
there have been many a dress that have been sent to all of the girls since then, but the 3 green dresses will always stand out in my memory.