Going to bed at 3 a.m.

I just had to put this here because it's my mother's fault. NO, she didn't teach me to stay up til the wee hours. No, she isn't standing here telling me to stay awake. Certainly she will fuss at me for being up this late. However, I still claim it is her fault.

You see, when I was little, and even when I was bigger than little, my mom made a lot of my clothes. And it went something like this: While we were gone to school or playing with friends, she would start the dress. Then, I had to try on this dress with pins stuck all over it, accompanied with the admonition, "BE careful not to let the pins poke you." Now, I was somehow responsible for maneuvering my body around the pins. "Be still! I can't measure the hem if you keep moving!" Oh, wait, is that just what I tell my girls. It all runs together now.

Suddenly, Mom would realize that it was the day before whatever the occasion was for the dress, and she wasn't finished. Thus, she would stay up til the wee hours finishing the dress. Or, sew a hem as we drove wherever we were going.

When I got married, I made my wedding dress, under the guidance of my mom AND my soon to be mother-in-law. Yes, it gave me plenty of time to practice "ripping" what I had "sewn." My dress was to be made with this one condition: It had to be FINISHED one month before the wedding. Mom's orders. And, with the help of several friends and the moms, we had all the pearls and beads sewn on in time.

That was then. This is now. Have you heard that children learn more by what they see than what they hear? Yep, it's true. You see, Easter is in 3 days. We will leave Saturday to go to my mother-in-law's house. I started the girls' dresses last week. Now, in 3 days, they need to be finished. Meanwhile, we have had days away from home, sleepover guests (which required far more supervision than anticipated), and even a night at an ice show. So, here I am, 3 days before Easter...no, wait, it's after midnight, make that 2 days before Easter, at 3 a.m. going to bed because I must get some sleep. I am determined to finish these dresses before we leave.

If I don't, well, just blame it on Mom. I think she'll approve if I'm still sewing hems in the car. But, if the girls get poked with pins, I'm sending them to MAMMAW to explain it!