Once upon a time...

In another life, another world- a story like the one I am going to share would begin this way. For the past 15 years, I have been raising my 3 daughters on my own- a single mom who has battled illnesses, poverty and my own standards of what my life *should be* for a majority of their lives. As my girls have heard me say *many* times, "I am doing my best". But my best has included years of going without, struggling to pay the bills, going without hot water, using the oven to heat the house during the dead of winter, empty pantries, recycled clothes, shoes etc. We have been blessed with angels who have made sure the girls had Christmas, but I have also been heartbroken when one of my girls truly needed something ~Calculators that averaged $90, supplies for a class, fees for a test or activity, a school trip that was paid for, and they needed $5 for lunch- and I knew there was no money. Many months, we are down to less than $5 in the bank by the 8th of the month.  Fee waivers have helped...but they have heard the words *We can't right now* or *I'll try to figure it out somehow, we just don't have the money* so many times they want to Scream! Then again, so do I. I know that *My Best* seems hollow to them when they have to do without.

I have begged, borrowed, and sold almost everything of value that I could find a buyer for. But we have been blessed- my girls appreciate the little things. When a friend told Brianna that she was going to give her an Ice Tea Maker for Graduation, after she had been hounding me about one for 2 weeks...she ran squealing across the room and jumped in our friends' lap...saying Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!! :)

They say its the little things.... Well, at the beginning of the year, the Prom magazines started coming in. With 3 daughters, We have figured that by the time they all graduate, We will have had Prom 5 years in a row...And before you ask...all 3 girls have COMPLETELY different body builds...and aren't even CLOSE to the same size! When the first book was opened, this amazing dress jumped out...yes, even *I* say amazing...the colors, the style, everything about it screamed Brianna's name- and I heard- *this is IT Mama- I have to have this dress*...I replied that I would work on it- and we would see...Then, I looked at the price- and we sat down to talk. There was no way, in any life, that we could afford that dress. All was not lost tho, as I spent years making and designing dresses! I looked at the structure of the dress and realized the design was simple...the hard part was going to be painting the fabric-- but I could do that! So I started getting the supplies, and lined up the fabric, and all was well. Prom was set for April 16th.

On March 25th, I went to the ER, not breathing well, and feeling cruddy (In the past 10 years, I have had 3 cancer diagnosis, Terrible lung issues and Mulitple major health problems- a whole other post in itself- but when I go to the ER- I get admitted- and usually spend about 2 weeks in the hospital)- I was admitted- *for a few days*. Famous last words. One week later, I wasn't out, and was starting to panic about the dress. So, with just two weeks left until Brianna's Prom, she sent me a message and told me she would be attending a Prom at another High school with a good friend from Middle school. It was the week before- so she understood if she had to recycle her one formal dress...AGAIN. Brianna has worked harder in school and life than anyone I have ever known. By April of her Senior year, she had been accepted into *9* Ivy League/Upper Tier Schools (Princeton, Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, Stanford, Colombia, Cornell,  Duke, and Brown- and had FULL RIDES to each!!) So to say that I wanted her to have a Special night was an understatement- she had worked so hard for SO many years, I was glad just to see her planning to Enjoy a night like a *normal Student*! She had earned it.

I sent out a plea on Facebook- "Could someone pick up fabric for me, so I could paint it and begin working on the dress while I was in the hospital"...(Don't ask me how I thought I was going to get it sewed together in the hospital!) Can I just stop and say that Facebook is a wonderful thing?? In less than 30 minutes- I had 3 messages- all asking how much the dress I was going to copy was. My response- *Too much*. They persisted. So I responded with the total. (It was as much as I paid for my wedding dress) But instead of the conversation being dropped like a hot potato- The responses were: "I can chip in $100", and another that said *I can pay Half* (by a dear friend-newly married-who said- my husband is also kicking in $100!)  The total of the dress was $500. She said she had 4 boys and this might be the only chance she had to do a prom dress! Lori- the friend who came up with half, put the word out with some other angels, and before I knew it- they had matching jewelry, and the dress was being drop shipped to a local store. I got out of the hospital on Thursday night, and Friday afternoon, Lori Picked me up to go get the *Dream Dress*.

One detail I didn't mention, was that the weekend that I got out of the hospital, all of this was falling into place, and we were picking up the dress- Brianna was up on her official Visit at Princeton- they flew her up for a visit, and she was flying in with less than an hour to get ready for the first Prom! But when she walked in the door, she had no idea what she was wearing- as usual- the only answer I gave her when she asked (repeatedly) about the dress, was that I had taken care of it and to trust me! We hung the dress at the top of the stairs, and when I heard the car drop her off- I stood at the top of the stairs- to block the dress for just a moment...then, I let her see...The joy that lit up her face was a sight I will never forget, as long as I live! She was simply glowing as tears streamed down her face as I shared the story of how the dress came about.

Thank you Lori, Kathy, and the anonymous angels for the joy that you brought to my girl! This dress was a dream come true for her- and neither of us will EVER forget the miracle of love and generosity that helped make this dress happen!! She had a wonderful time- her face radiated pure bliss, and she danced the night away! My heart overflows with amazement and gratitude at the amount of joy that can fill your heart as a result of a moment of kindness on the part of another. For us, this was a Magical moment, and a Dream come true!

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