Easter

This year Easter was warm and sunny--the first true warm day of Spring in fact.  It had been unseasonably cold for the preceding week, so I had insisted that everyone have long sleeves or sweaters to layer on--no need as it turned out.

We go to a very inclusive church.  I love it for that, and it makes going to church much easier for a family of diverse beliefs.  However, sometimes a little of the concrete is lost in the inclusive and symbolic nature of the services.  Easter was a perfect example.  A basket of breads from around the world made its way around the sanctuary, with everyone invited to eat.  All the adults in the room recognized the allusion to the last supper and the recognition of all the many peoples included.  I'm pretty sure the kids did not.  I found a beautiful book at the library that laid out Easter very clearly, including the many ways it is celebrated around the world.  The Passion, Easter eggs and bunnies, and Spring were all addressed.  Don't you love the library?  It worked so well, I bought a copy of The Story of Easter by Aileen Fisher to have on hand every year.

Here are Easter baskets for ages two through twelve.  It is a broad range, but I settled on a theme and was able to find age appropriate gifts in all categories.
Spring/Rabbit/Renewal themed book check,
Chocolate (or white chocolate) bunny check,
Jelly beans and Cadbury eggs check,
Toy or longed for item (lip gloss or headphone splitter etc) check.

I don't know how long I will keep this up, but this year it seemed important that every child get an Easter basket, regardless of age.

Dying eggs happened very early, before anyone had changed in to Easter outfits.  

An egg hunt was also very important to every child this year, regardless of age.  In order to give everyone a fighting chance, we color coded the eggs, so that each child was looking for just one color.  For added excitement, there was one golden egg up for grabs.

We celebrated with a few aunts and uncles, cousins, and my grandparents from my mom's side of the family.  Compared to the gatherings of thirty plus that usually show up for holidays on this side, we had a small Easter celebration.  We missed family members who were not there, but small groups do have their advantages.  It is hard to visit at length with so many people. This time we were closer to 15, which allows for deeper interaction and lingering conversation.   We went out for brunch and then headed back to my aunt and uncle's house for an impromptu soccer game, cake and conversation.




The game began with everyone on the field--even Ariadne (everyone under 30 anyway).  Later on the game evolved to little sisters vs. big brothers.

Several birthdays fell near Easter this year (last year it fell exactly on Ariadne's birthday).  GG Rose, Michael and Cameron all shared a cake.  This year Jerry and Eileen's kids turn 21, 18, and 16.  I cannot imagine more milestone birthdays in one year in one family.

Aria and Granne

Here GG Rose, Dani, Michael and GG John are discussing the movie that was made in my granparents' town recently.  Many people in town had cameos and GG John had a speaking roll in which he recited some poetry.  He often recalls an appropriate and sometimes pithy verse.  The store he has memorized is amazing, though he claims it is not out of the ordinary for his generation.