Easter Changes

When you are an adult Easter becomes one of those weird holidays if you don't live near your family and don't have kids of your own. While it has sentimental value it is not really something you are going to take off work for to go visit your parents like Christmas. Easter also loses a bit of luster when it is no longer attached to a weeklong vacation like spring break. Yet you do not want to ignore it altogether.

Even as teenagers it became a bit of a tug-of-war. You wanted to spend time with your parents and do the whole egg hunt, chocolate bunny thing, but that meant taking time away from spring break, the parties and the general absence of homework. In Junior High there was even the Easter trip to Europe which had nothing to do with Easter and everything to do with insanity. Move on to college and it becomes even more complicated. Your parents want you to come home as much as possible, but your friends had other ideas. Unlike other Americans who enjoy the Florida spring break experience, growing up there it was kind of the last place I wanted to go for the big holiday, so instead I took off to California. I suppose a little foreshadowing of things to come. Another spring break was spent in New Orleans, because where else would a college kid want to go? For awhile Easter seemed marked with travel.

The years continue to tick by and I moved on to a ski town, where Easter is the beginning of the sun really breaking through. Easter was marked with sled races, emergency room visits and the employee party as Canyon Lodge closed down. Then came LA where you could go to the Grove and sit on the Easter Bunny's lap, yes that's a little weird. My little urban family and I developed our own Easter potluck tradition. We got all the good food but instead of having big family time it came with a bottle of wine and in true California style a gathering on the roof, near a pool, in the sun. As with so many other things, times have changed. People have moved, that pool is no longer accessible and everyone committing to a single gathering day has become more complicated. It has almost gone full circle back to being with family for the holiday but instead it is the family who have taken me in and new traditions are beginning. I think in this world of far-flung families and friends across the globe holidays change even more quickly than before. If I had the money I would go to NYC every year for the Easter Bonnet competition on Broadway! Instead I will take the time to remember how fun it is to dye Easter eggs and each time is its own unique eggspierience. :)