EASTER

This coming Sunday is Easter and I will be spending it alone as will so many others. Unlike Thanksgiving when I “…vanted to be alone,” I’d rather have family with whom I could celebrate the holiday. Instead, I’ll be here with memories of past Easters. 

When I was a kid, I always got a new dress, shoes, gloves and sometimes even a hat. We went to church to celebrate Jesus’ rising from the dead to save us all. We sang hymns and I loved that. There’s just something so joyous about singing hymns with the rest of the congregation. 

          After church, there were Easter baskets filled with candy, colored hard-boiled eggs hidden throughout the yard if the sun shined or in the house if it was raining. Easter dinner was always a big deal. Usually other family members either joined my family or we went to their homes. Baked ham covered in pineapple slices and maraschino cherries…I never was able to make one of those that looked as good as the ones my grandmother and aunts made. Mashed potatoes and gravy, some kind of vegetable and the famous Jell-O salad of some sort. Between the candy, eggs and dinner I was always stuffed at the end of the day.

          Over the years, I continued to celebrate Easter with egg hunts, candy and dinner or brunch with family and friends. Church going wasn’t ever part of the plan. I must admit that I’m sorry now I didn’t include church and Sunday school attendance in the lives of my children. They grew up without any religious history. When I was growing up, you received religious information not only at church, but in regular school as well. My children didn’t receive any religious education in school, not even learning to sing Christmas songs. I do know that if my children now felt the need for religion in their lives, they could seek it out. Still, if I had it to do over, I’d at least make sure they went to church until they were old enough to decide whether to attend or not.

          For AJ’s first Easter, my sister Mary gave him two baby chicks…one dyed pink and the other blue. She brought them in a huge Easter basket which he still uses at Easter. AJ was fascinated by these little colored fluff balls that cheeped and hopped about. Of course, if he got his hands on one, it was headed directly for his mouth. I ended up giving them to the family next door. The mother raised them and then served them for Sunday dinner…she had been a farm girl. I never did get even with my sister for that gift.

          Then there was the year I did such a good job of hiding the colored eggs in the house, the boys were unable to fine one of them. They searched all over and I searched as well, but we didn’t find that egg until the following year. I’d hidden it in one of the hanging plants and the foliage hit it so well we couldn’t see it. John very carefully took control of that egg, wrapped it up in a plastic bag and put it in the garbage. “Can you imagine how a year-old hard-boiled egg would smell if it was cracked?” was his comment.

          I always made sure everyone of us had an Easter basket full of our favorite candies, Easter egg hunts and a yummy ham dinner. Sometimes, especially after my parents both died, we’d have a brunch with several other families. Each family would bring a special dish and we’d share. There was certainly some very tasty food at those brunches as well as a great feeling of fellowship…I’ll miss that this year.

           My mother almost always bought those hams that are round and oblong. I much prefer the hams with the bone. The ham itself just tastes so much better and then you get to use the bone for some kind of soup. The day after Easter there’s nothing like a really good roll with a piece of ham tucked inside…okay, several rolls with ham.

          When I do my grocery shopping today, I’m going to see if I can find the smallest bone-in ham they have in the case. It will probably way bigger than I need, but I can freeze some of it as well as the bone to have later on. I probably won’t make gravy or potatoes. Instead, I’ll make myself a big salad and make sure I have my favorite rolls on hand so I can put the ham inside that very day rather than waiting until Monday.

          It will be my first Easter without John; and, really, without family since we cannot all get together. I’m sure it will be lonely, but there’s the phone and face time, not that those conveniences will do John any good. I’ve also put Easter cards in the mail to my grandkids and their parents. I like to think of it as sending a virtual hug and being able to say, “Happy Easter, Nana/Mom loves you.”