Looking in my closet this past week to see what I could find to serve as an Easter dress this year, two seemed perfect but when I tried them on, I realized they were very short.

I knew I had not grown any taller, so at some point I had worn them that short. Both covered my knees when I stood up, but when I sat down I had trouble pulling the skirt over my knees. For a young woman with pretty legs this may not be a problem, but for an older woman with baggy knees and blue veins, it did look a little odd.

Since I haven’t done much shopping this soon after surgery, going out to buy a new Easter dress just isn’t in the cards. I can walk and the doctors encourage me to walk to build up my back muscles, but strolling around on the hard floors usually found in stores isn’t exactly what they had in mind.

Buying a new dress takes at least a day of shopping — when you can find a dress to purchase! One could buy a new pants suit, but there goes the tradition of a new dress for Easter!

I used to sew Easter dresses for my three girls and myself when they were small. I loved making pretty dresses for them and spent a lot of time picking out the perfect fabric, patterns, buttons or zippers and trim for each one of them. Since they were two years apart, often their dresses were very similar, but always different colors — usually pastels.

When they were very little girls, they had hats, gloves, new purses, pretty ruffled socks and white patent leather shoes especially for Easter Sunday.

I remember one year I decided to make matching dresses for us and by the time I got all four finished, I was so sick of the fabric, I didn’t even want to wear mine — but I did! I’m sure I have a photo somewhere of the four of us in our matching outfits.

New Easter dresses were a huge tradition as we went from winter into spring and the kinds of clothes we wore changed, as well as the type and color of our shoes. Back then, white shoes were a must for Easter Sunday to wear with the new frocks!

There’s a lot of pleasure in new dresses and shoes, but they have no more place in the real meaning of Easter than do colorful baskets of candy, bunnies and hiding dyed eggs.

They are just traditions that we carry on year after year as we also remember and celebrate the real reason – the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. What a wonderful day it was on that first Easter morning when tomb was found to be empty! He arose! We serve a risen Savior! The grave could not hold Him and He lives!

As for an Easter dress, I did find one in my closet to wear. It’s the same one I have worn for the past two years. The skirt is long enough to cover my knees either sitting or standing and that suits me fine. That’s probably why I keep wearing it.

May all thoughts of what everybody is wearing disappear as we all gather together to worship our Lord and Savior on this very special day.

Happy Easter!

Retired Lifestyle Editor Bob Ann Breland, a resident of Pine, writes a weekly column and may be contacted at bobann_b@yahoo.com.