A Different Kind of Easter

On a high shelf in my closet for four weeks now, a blanket has been draped over a pile of accumulated goods for Easter–bags of jelly beans, plastic eggs, bunny ears, three packages of Peeps I managed to not break into, and a large box full of carefully chosen small gifts for the kids’ baskets. Little did we know when the pile started that our Easter would be celebrated in a world that looks so different than the one that existed when I tossed those Peeps in the cart on a random trip to Target, gloveless and maskless, late February. A lot can change in a short amount of time. It’s silly how much the importance of that pile in the closet increased over these past few weeks–not because the things themselves are important but because the kids looked forward to our Easter traditions this year as if it was Christmas. A few things were different, but we were all more acutely aware of our togetherness and the invitation to slow down and enjoy each other and our simple celebrations. My dad and Gary even stopped by and sat in our driveway, appropriately distanced, and cheered on the kids for an egg hunt.

We were pleased to see that our grocery store carried the Easter Bunny’s favorite carrots–the one’s with the leaves.

Some snapshots of our celebrations:

 

The juxtaposition of Easter delights and a beautiful day enjoying each other against such uncertainty and hardship in the world is hard to grasp, but gratitude seems to be the outcome–not the hashtag-blessed kind of gratitude but the awareness kind that motivates us to do good…

Happy Easter.