There are some holidays that are just fun. Holidays that always make us smile, make us feel good and where we have wonderful memories attached to it. Easter is one of those holidays for me. But this one was different.
Easter was getting a new dress, usually one with a little jacket because we always had a cold snap on or right before. It was getting up for sun rise service, sleepy eyes and barely awake, but loving the going to church that early on a special day. It was the end of Lent and finally being able to eat chocolate or drink a coke again, after 40 long days. It was an Easter basket, with candy and a little stuffed animal.
It was Easter dinner and being with family. It wasn’t has busy or hectic as Christmas or Thanksgiving. It was just fun. We got to dress up in a fancy Easter clothes, which usually also included new shoes, and eat candy… Easter was wonderful.
We also learned about the Crucifixion, watched and knew the Statins of the Cross, and I cried every-time I went through them. We marveled at the miracle of His rising. And easter is what prompted my mother to writer her children’s book about Christmas. yes I am aware of how that sounds.
But this year it wasn’t going to be like that. This year it was going to be just another day really. I would be able to drink a coke again. And I would say a prayer for His miracle. But no big family things. I put missing the family out of my head, and was simply enjoy a nice day.But it things did not quite happen that way.
Instead there was an invitation to join some family friends, who over twenty something years, have become my family too. There was catching up, celebrating their successes, seeing their new restaurant, seeing their new home. Then on Easter it was helping in the kitchen, helping to get things ready. This year I was part of something, part of a family. And it was wonderful. It was bittersweet too, as I remembered all the happy Easters of the past. And a tear or two stained my cheek. But I was surrounded by love.
And that is the thing about life, the unexpected along the way is often marvelous. And wold we really want it any other way? The paths we travel, the people we meet along the way, and the adventures we have. How boring would life be if it always went as planned?
It was a gift to be part of a family this Easter. I missed being part of a family, and it was wonderful and addictive. And I sobbed on the way home, as I remembered what being a family was like, and how great it was to feel that way again, even for just a holiday weekend. Because to be honest, I miss being a part of a family. And that is one of the hardest things now. Family is who you make them to be. Family is who loves you and who you love back. And that makes my heart rise up into joy. That makes me smile and raises up my energy.
In life. whatever it is you are looking for is what you will find. And that which you seek is also keeping you. And I am seeking love, in all forms. And what better time than Easter, a time of miracles, to find it.
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