Easter 2010

It is so much easier to get ready for a holiday meal now that my five children are grown. Trying to dress all five and myself for church, get the house clean (especially to Gramma standards), the food ready, heading to church, rushing home to finish the meal details, keep the baskets hidden in a tiny house; holidays were never the picture book perfection that I had hoped and planned for.

Now I have plenty of time to start preparations a day early. I wake up to work on the final details. Have time to dress and comb my own hair - AND I can set the dining room table days in advance. Then I can add more ornaments every day!

The kids seem to have better memories than I do, thank goodness! My youngest is 25 and they still gather before the big day for the Easter egg decorating with their dad. Decorations and sayings are added in crayon before plunging into the hot water and vinegar bath with the good old food coloring. Eggs still carry the same heartfelt messages - "Boys Stink" "Marissa is ugly" "I am the Favorite".

I still hide the baskets (this year - bags), hopefully outside. This year Easter was a warm and sunny morning and the bags were hidden in trees and bushes. To entice the teenagers into continuing the Easter hunt, I had been hiding cold hard cash in the plastic eggs. Now that they are in their twenties, chocolate works just as well!

We had three extra guests at the last minute, so we set up more card tables and made room for all! Two were children which always makes a meal more fun. A day of new memories.