Isn’t it strange how holiday traditions change over time? For some, the Easter morning ritual of hopping out of bed and finding a basket filled with toys and candy followed by an egg hunt – either at home or at a family or public gathering – is replaced by seeing such activities through the eyes of their children. For others, it is replaced by what could essentially be described as just another Sunday morning.
I remember the joy I had as a child when I would wake up and discover that the Easter Bunny (whom I had taken photos with a week or so earlier) had brought me a basket of jelly beans, marshmallow Peeps and chocolate bunnies as well as some sort of Easter-themed toy – my most memorable being a stuffed bunny that “gave birth to” a few baby bunnies. As I grew up, that tradition obviously faded away but I always managed to find time to color a few Easter Eggs with my mom with the names of our family members, friends, pets and other loved ones scribbled on them with a clear wax crayon. This year, I had plans to dress up in my Easter Bunny costume (yes, I have one) and decorate an Easter-themed tree. But plans, like traditions, change.
People change, too. They wear revealing clothing despite the wishes of people they claim to care about and they exhibit a heartbreaking ability to be happy when others are sad. Absolutely, definitively and irreversibly heartbreaking.
So, instead of hopping out of bed to find an Easter Basket and instead of decorating an Easter-themed tree in an Easter Bunny costume, today is – for better or worse – just another Sunday morning. As such, I got out of bed and worked out while watching “The Amazing Race” and then gave my pet duck Frozen his weekly bath. Well, it is supposed to be weekly but he skipped last Sunday because he did not really feel like it. So it was especially important for him to wash up today…
He did not appear to be that into his bath, perhaps because he prefers an audience. My mom, her cat Midnight and I were there, though, and did our best to encourage him to wash his butt, clear his nostrils and do what we have dubbed “dunk-a-duck,” but he sort of just soaked his webbed feet instead. Meanwhile, Midnight was on the receiving end of “bad kitty pat-a-butt.” Whatever you are imagining, it really is not as weird as it sounds. But that is perhaps a story for another day.
Once Frozen was sufficiently clean, I used a towel to dry him off before heading out to pick up donations to the food ministry for which I volunteer. I then delivered the donations to their destination before arriving back at home where I enjoyed breakfast and wished some of my relatives in Illinois a happy Easter by phone. Some of them had gotten together to celebrate the holiday with one another over some lamb chops. Even though the Easter Bunny did not visit my house and leave behind a basket full of goodies or hide any eggs, my aunt did send me a box of treats that included some jerky, popcorn, licorice and – of course – some toothbrushes to keep the cavities away…
A short time later, I got in my car and drove more than an hour away (past IKEA) to the Chandler home of my mom’s second cousins for a small Easter gathering. I was the youngest attendee by at least a decade but it was nice to catch up with family I had not seen since last summer. After yesterday’s debacle at the family friends’ birthday/anniversary party that left me hanging my head over the toilet bowl, I decided to decline the offer of a mimosa upon my arrival and opted to stick with some soda pop instead. I also enjoyed a few crackers with slices of cheese and sausage as an appetizer…
I had planned on texting someone special in my life from the party thereby celebrating the holiday with them and sharing my experience with them remotely, since I was unable to spend the day with them in person as I would have preferred, but, unfortunately, those plans fell through. I found it especially difficult to hide my emotions when someone opened the refrigerator, revealing several containers of cherry tomatoes – something that is particularly meaningful to me and this person, who I was very deeply missing. After a while, dinner was served and I fixed a plate for myself that included two types of lasagna, meatballs, sausage, fall-off-the-bone beef, ham with pineapple, seafood pasta salad, deviled eggs, fresh mozzarella, pickles, olives and – of course – cherry tomatoes, much to my emotional chagrin…
It was an absolutely delicious meal that I feel fortunate to have been able to enjoy. I also feel fortunate to have family members who think highly enough of me to include me in their holiday gathering. And that got me thinking – perhaps holidays are not so much about what you do but rather who you do it with. It seems like a rather obvious and simple conclusion but sometimes we get too wrapped up in our own nostalgia to remember what really matters. Speaking of what really matters, the dessert was divine…
But back to my point, I am grateful for how I spent my Easter Sunday yet I am even more grateful for the people with whom I spent my Easter Sunday. Truth be told, there is someone else I wish I had been able to share my holiday with as well but, fortunately, Easter occurs every year and I have a lifetime of them ahead of me. And I won’t give up on us. Even if the skies get rough. I’m giving them all my love. God knows we’re worth it. So when you are safe at home, text somebunny you love and hop to any apologies, explanations and reparations needed to make next Easter – and hopefully every Easter thereafter – a bunnymoon…
P.S. – You must be a chocolate bunny because all I can think about right now is nibbling on your ears.
