I want to wish everyone who celebrates Easter a happy and blessed Holiday. No matter what religion one espouses, spring is always a time of great renewal of our earth as flowers blossom, trees burst forth with new leaves, and there seems to be an air of great anticipation and eagerness about us. So I hope all my friends who read this feel that sense of renewal and excitement in their lives.
Now, for a bit of holiday fun, here is an excerpt from my humorous memoir, A Dead Tomato Plant and A Paycheck. One of these days I’ll actually finish the book and it could even get published. In the meantime, it gives me material to share here. Enjoy…
Holidays are definitely more fun when children are young and Santa and the Easter Bunny are given more deference than Mom. We grown-ups can delight in a child’s excitement about one of those benevolent creatures, and maybe even for a little while forget that mature people aren’t supposed to believe any more.
With as many kids as we had, we were able to keep that magic of childhood belief for a long time, right about until the twins turned seven. That was the year I realized we had probably just experienced our “swan song” when it came to the delights of the Easter Bunny.
I got my first hint of this impending change one day when the twins had been playing out in the garage, and they came bursting in the back door, falling all over each other with excitement and questions.
“Guess what we just found!”
“What?”
“A bag full of Easter baskets.”
“Oh … ”
“And they looked just like our baskets from last year.”
“They did?”
“Yeah. And you said you gave our baskets back to the Easter Bunny last year.”
“Maybe he forgot them. He’s very busy you know.”
“Do you think he’ll remember to come and get them in time to fill them with candy this year?”
“Oh, I’m sure he will.”
“How does the Easter Bunny know they’re out there in that black bag?”
“He has his ways. He’s a very smart rabbit.”
That seemed to satisfy them, at least temporarily, but I knew it wouldn’t last for long. In time, the Easter Bunny and Santa and the Tooth Fairy would all be outed, but in my eternal optimism, I kept hoping for one more year.
By evening on Easter Sunday, however, my hopes were dashed as I overheard the twins in their room comparing the remains of their baskets.
“Hey, look! I’ve got four marshmallow eggs and 25 jelly beans left.”
“I’ve got two squishy chicks and lots of trash.”
“That was a lot of candy. The Easter Bunny must have stayed up all night making it.”
“Aw, he didn’t make it. I saw it all last week at Target.”
I hope you have a great day with family, and don’t eat too many chocolate bunnies.
