Today was Easter. It was the first holiday in a long time that we spent at home, just the six of us. It was glorious. This was not the original plan. A well-timed illness (read: middle of the night), kept us from going out the next morning, even to church. We'd read The Story of Easter by Aileen Fisher the day before. At least we had covered what Easter is about. By mid morning it seemed everyone was feeling alright, but we didn't want to risk infecting anyone, so we enjoyed the day at home.
The kids found their Easter Basket. As usual, the kids got books to go with their candy. This year it was several Miffy books, Knuffle Bunny Too, The Secret Garden and Pontius Pilot. Nova read to her sisters. We played games together, mostly Chess and Go. We had a leisurely breakfast. We set up an egg hunt. We hung around and did nothing for hours. We never get to do nothing.
Don't get me wrong. I enjoy spending holidays with extended family. We look forward to many more. But between church and music lessons, dance class and birthday parties, most of our weekends are busier than our weeks. It can be a little ridiculous, but I haven't found a way around it. So many things happen on the weekend or not at all.
Charlotte enjoyed building with her balancing blocks. Ariadne combined birthday and Easter gifts, giving Miffy a ride on Twilight Sparkle.
The girls still felt like dressing up, so we let them. Here I am going out to hide Easter eggs.
And they're off! As of last year, each child is only allowed to hunt for the eggs the same color as their Easter basket, except for the golden egg, which is up for grabs (and contains something other than candy).
It was a spirited hunt, and everyone found their own eggs without too many hints. The golden egg was much harder, partly because it was really more brown than gold. I gave a hint. Still no luck. The discovery of the golden egg was almost (but not quite) captured on film. Inspired by the candid writing of Knausgaard (a new favorite author of Chuck's), I will tell it like it happened.
Charles stood poised with the camera. Just as I was about to give the second hint, Solomon saw the egg and dove for it with enthusiasm, punctuating his action with an excited yell. Ariadne, who had been right behind him, was knocked to the ground. Crushed by the disappointment of not finding the golden egg, Charlotte ran off crying. Solomon gave Ariadne the egg to make up for accidentally knocking her over. It turns out he was really just excited about finding the egg, not the prize inside. Nova just stood there. For a few moments it seemed the afternoon had dissolved into disaster. I suggested doing away with the golden egg. 'No!' they all yelled.
Everyone was feeling fine again in about ten minutes. I've learned this is just par for the course with kids. We parents usually don't photograph these things. We don't dwell on them or mention them in public. But they happen to everyone, and then we recover and move on. It was a good Easter.
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