Saturday, April 03, 2010

because i feel the need to incorporate more candy into my childrens' lives

So I was most of the way through writing another entry, which was about how I went to Cal's class play post-call (the theme of the play was water conservation, and my favorite moment was towards the end, when they turned out the lights and all the kids sang "Purple Rain" while waving violet glow sticks--no, I'm not kidding). In particular, I was discussing how I looked and felt like a college kid after pulling an all-nighter--bed head, yoga pants, difficulty focusing on conversation--and how amongst all the real grown-ups in the audience, I felt like some kind of grown-up impersonator. But then I re-read the entry and decided against posting it, mostly because it sounded kind of pathetic. Hide your shame!

So instead I'm going to talk about Easter. Seasonal!

I didn't grow up celebrating Easter. I have no problem with Easter, it seems nice enough, but unlike Christmas, there just didn't seem to be as much of a societal push for the secular aspects of the celebration, so my experience with the holiday is purely limited to craft: cold, vinegar-y eggs tinted vague shades of pastel, wads of plastic grass glued to posterboard, and whatever else my elementary school art teacher insisted on. I had never been on an egg hunt, never received and Easter basket, and really had only the vaguest notion of what all else the trappings of the holiday entailed. Ham, right? People bake a ham? Oh, and also wear big hats with flowers on them. Wait, am I confusing "Easter" with the Ascot Opening Day number in "My Fair Lady?" Probably.




Anyway, Easter. Seems fun enough, but growing up as a Chinese kid in Manhattan, I never partook. However, now we live in Georgia, and Easter is a much bigger deal. I'm not saying people are ramming it down our throats or anything, like, CELEBRATE EASTER SAYETH THE LORD, but there's definitely a lot more, "What are you doing for Easter?" and "Are the kids looking forward to Easter?" than I had been accustomed to. And after a certain point, I started to feel like I was damn near depriving my kids because I hadn't made any elaborate plans to let them run around the yard looking for candy encased in plastic eggs. I was the enemy of fun!

So, this year: eggs and candy.




It was all kind of a last minute decision--the kids and I just dropped by Target this morning to pick up some of the more classic accoutrement (basket, eggs, "fun sized" Kit Kats), and we still have to figure out what exactly we're going to do with it all, but dammit, we're doing this thing. The only thing is, I'm not quite sure that Cal's going to buy the whole "Easter Bunny" bit (he believes in Santa Claus, but that's because we've always talked about Santa Claus instead of trying to inject him into the narrative midway through his childhood--also, Santa Claus is a human, with opposable thumbs, which makes the act of stealthily dropping off gifts and such more plausible) but Joe and I will just hide the eggs and Cal will find them. And, probably like Halloween, he will probably be initially really excited that there's candy inside, but then soon forget all about the candy and we will have yet another bag of slowly dessicating chocolate bars sitting high up on a shelf somewhere until someone mercifully decides to throw them away.

(Also, blah blah blah Rites of Spring Joyful Childhood Wonder etcetera.)

Easter!

16 comments:

  1. I love reading your blog & follow you on Twitter. lol OMG I sound a stalker, but no not really. I just love your sense of humor.
    Hope your family is having a fun Easter weekend!

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  2. Easter Parade with Judy Garland and Fred Astaire.

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  3. You also should not deprive your children of My Fair Lady. Make it a 3 hour Easter Holiday tradition.

    Wait, you mean I was the only 5 year old who loved that movie?

    While you're at it get some Sound of Music in there. Nazis and Julie/Audrey rivalry!!!

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  4. Ha! I'm from Atlanta (Kennesaw, specifically) so I know exactly what you mean. I grew up wearing some hideously flowered dress and hat to church on Sunday and then coming home to a baking ham with all the "fixin's". After that it was all about the egg hunt! Tip: When they're old enough, start putting money in there, it makes the competition more interesting! Those have actually become some of my best memories as a kid. =) I hope yall enjoy your Easter weekend - I think they might do a big Easter egg hunt in Piedmont Park it you're interested!

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  5. Anonymous2:34 PM

    No, Pending PA-S you are NOT the only 5 year old who loved My Fair Lady! I loved it, too, and even now have the soundtrack -two of them, actually! (one from movie, one from Broadway stage) - on my ipod.

    And Brittany- I also hide money for my kids... dollar bills in plastic eggs, although each child gets his own plastic egg color/pattern or it would be grossly unfair as there is a 5 year difference between the two of them.

    Michelle, oh how I ADORE your blog! And Easter is fun! Welcome to Easter! I think Cal and Mac will like it a lot! :)

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  6. Mallory4:43 PM

    haha - it's not gonna help Cal into believing that he was with you when you bought the eggs/candy!

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  7. Yeah, we're not even going to try to pretend that there's an Easter Bunny. It's hard enough trying to convince him not to hide the eggs himself. (He doesn't quite seem to understand that that would defeat the purpose of looking for them.)

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  8. my favorite: "when they turned out the lights and all the kids sang "Purple Rain" while waving violet glow sticks"

    I LOVE PRINCE!

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  9. Kandice7:57 PM

    not much of the Easter mood over here, I've managed to totally avoid the streets and am preparing for my LONG LONG call day... blah. HAPPY EASTER!!!!!!

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  10. Yes, you can keep those Easter egg hunts interesting for years if you start putting dollar bills in a few of them. I have one for my grandkids every year. Its strange how they will get so excited over finding a few eggs with a dollar bill in them as compared to if I just hand them each a 5 dollar bill. That 5 dollar bill means nothing to them, but a dollar in an egg, now that is something. Why???

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  11. Anonymous5:06 AM

    It won't be an issue this year because Mack's not the age for egghunts, but future hint: my parents had to enforce a max egg-quota per kid, otherwise my brother (like 6 yrsat the time) would find 99% of the eggs in 30 seconds and my younger brother (like 3 yrs old) would get like 2 eggs before they're all hunted out. Then there would be crying, so my parents had to redistribute the loot, but when one kid finds 20 eggs and the other 2.. well that's not the Easter spirit.

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  12. Anonymous5:12 AM

    oh and be glad you have boys. You aren't pressured to dress up daughters in pastel flowered dresses with a satin ribbon around the waist, big hats and ruffled socks complete with a little purse. Not that my parents bought a easter outfit for me every year *shudder*...

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  13. Jane Doe6:15 AM

    Purple Rain! How cool is that? :D

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  14. Anonymous9:29 AM

    Okay, so I was raised pretty Christian. Easter was always that day we got up painfully early for the "sunrise service" and then had a big potluck at church. My mom and dad did make up Easter baskets and that was my favorite part. We lived in Maine, so sunrise service in April in a thin, flowered dress= freezing your a$$ off.

    I'm no longer religious, but I take sick delight in the fact that Easter was actually originally a pagan spring/fertility festival that was co-opted by the Church to make the transition from paganism to Catholicism easier. Hence the eggs and bunnies and such. So, that said, my husband and I are starting our own Easter traditions for the day when we have little ones. And Easter baskets will be included. :)

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  15. Anonymous10:56 AM

    Is it kinda strange one of my Easter traditions is watching Jesus Christ Superstar on video?

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  16. My family is not especially religious, but the Easter egg hunt has always been one of our traditions (In Chocolate We Trust?). There are photos of me in HIGH SCHOOL searching for eggs.

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