My Easter

The day is well thought out and planned far in advance. The little plastic eggs are filled with candy ready for hiding. The church clothes are ironed and hanging in the closet. The goodies for the baskets are bought, placed in the baskets and hid away. The meal is planned, what dishes can be assembled ahead of time are assembled and in the fridge. We all go to bed at a decent hour so we can get up and dressed and out the door on time to church.

My Reality

The day is thought about. Baskets and goodies are bought; several times. The Beagle discovered my hiding place for the choc. I can not believe the dog isn't sick! The food for Easter dinner is bought. Going to bed on time and when we need to leave in the morning is discussed. Husband and I get up at a good time. I fill the Easter eggs with jelly beans and hide them about the house. The baskets are assembled and on the table. Husband and I met in the computer room to tackle a problem; only to find another one that would need to be dealt with. We get the 'kids' up and prod them to dress for church. I change outfits several times, ironing each of them as I went. The ham makes it to the oven as we run out the door. Husband and I are 20 mins late. Ordinarily I wouldn't bother if it was that late. However, I knew the choir would be singing their cantata; we'd get there for the preaching. Ahem...he preached first. My children showed up 10 mins later. They sat in the foyer. While I was far from pleased that we were all late; I was most pleased that they both managed to make it. After church, daughter goes to boy friend's house, waiting for my call to come to Sunday dinner. I got busy in the kitchen finishing the side dishes. How on earth did my Grandmother manage all this!!! The food is cooked and sitting on top of the stove--no one is hungry. The eggs are still hidden around the house. I knew it was silly to hide eggs for an 18 and 17 yr old. When they want jelly beans, they just find an egg and eat what they want. We finally ate around 1700. Only once did I stop to lament about how I failed to create a tradition and time for family on these special holidays. It only took a minute for me to realize this was the tradition for us. We always do something, who knows quite what until the day actually arrives.

I am so thankful that my immediate family was with me. However, words can not express how grateful I am that 'Easter' is NOT about all of the above. It is about our risen Savior. My Jesus, my Lord. Yes, it is a time to create family ties and memories, but if I didn't have my family with me I could still rejoice!

I hope your Easter Sunday was all that you hoped it would be.