* This is a work of non-fiction based on real events as told to me by my mother, who experienced them first hand; used with permission.

When my mother was a child, my grandmother was fond of reinforcing seams and buttons on her children‘s new clothes. One Easter day, her bigotry cost my mom the chance to wear her cute new Easter outfit on Easter Sunday.

My mother never forgot it.

Easter this year falls on Sunday, April 17, 2022. On an Easter Sunday nearly seventy years ago, my mother could not wear her brand new Easter outfit because my grandmother had not finished reinforcing the seams , adding thread to buttons, and tightening buttonholes.

My mother was heartbroken because she couldn’t wait to wear her new dress and jacket to church on Sunday. Her friends and siblings all dressed up on Easter Sunday while my mother had to wear her old clothes all day. She didn’t even go to church with her family because she didn’t have anything pretty to wear.

According to my mother, she looked longingly at the large cardboard box on the top shelf of her mother’s closet that contained what was supposed to be her Easter Sunday outfit as the day approached. Unfortunately, her mother didn’t take the hint.

My grandmother wouldn’t allow a garment to be worn until she tightened every buttonhole, added thread to every button, and sewed every stitch of every seam and hem by hand. No exceptions. It was a massive undertaking, especially with four children growing up at home.

By the time Easter morning arrived, the buttons, buttonholes, and seams on my mother’s new outfit were still unreinforced. Unfortunately, my grandmother was so busy sewing other children’s clothes that my mother’s clothes never came out of the box in the closet.

My mom didn’t mind wearing the outfit “as is”, but my grandma didn’t.

Thanks to my grandmother’s zealous use of her needle and thread, my mother said she had never knocked a button out of one of her shirts or sweaters. Its seams have never split and its hems have never fallen. Despite all those extra threads running through her wardrobe, she wasn’t happy.

“Happiness is wearing your new clothes whenever you want,” my mother used to say. “I don’t think the Easter Bunny cared about buttons and threads. Do you?”

No, I don’t think the Easter Bunny cares about buttons and threads. My mother’s story is a reminder that sometimes adults can get too caught up in the details and spoil the fun for kids.

Easter is a time of joy, not frustration. I’m glad my mother was able to recall the incident with humor. After all, it’s a pretty funny story. I’m sure his friends and siblings had a good laugh about it too.

Buttons and threads are important, but they shouldn’t come between a child and their new Easter outfit. Life is too short to sweat the little things.

Easter is a time of celebration, so let’s focus on what really matters: spending time with family, eating delicious food and enjoying the spring weather. Happy Easter everyone!