A Year of Blogging: April 24, 2011

Today is Easter. It is the holiest day for Christians. It is the day we celebrate Jesus' resurrection. Easter was always a big deal in our family. We went to 8 o'clock mass, just like every Sunday. The Easter service was always packed, and lasted more than the usual half hour. I think the Easter Bunny came during the night, because I remember waking up to find baskets or stuffed bunnies outside our bedroom doors. We always got a new dress for Easter. When we were really little, there were gloves and white patent leather shoes, hats and little purses. As we grew older, the little accessories were replaced with corsages. We went out to dinner a few years, but Mom preferred to have dinner at home. A lot of restaurants, at least in NY, offer a limited menu on holidays. Mom preferred to make a meal and have everyone at her house. She doesn't think it's work. She actually thinks it is fun. (We've tried having her evaluated..... ) Easter was a special day, not only in our faith, but in our family. As an adult, Easter has lost its luster for me. I still know the importance of the day. But there is nothing special in our house. Erich is an atheist. Or maybe he's an agnostic. I forget which he considers himself. Religion is one of the things we disagree on. I am still firm in my Catholic faith, although I choose to practice that faith in my own way. I do not discuss my beliefs with him, and he respects me enough not to try to persuade me to his beliefs- most of the time. He isn't big on holidays. His family really isn't either. Holidays are always kind of a let down for me, unless I'm with my family. This Easter wasn't quite so bad, because my family was just here a couple of days ago. I asked him a couple of weeks ago about going out to dinner, and my suggestion was met with silence. So I bought a small ham, and cooked it with scalloped potatoes. I cooked it at our regular supper time. There was no big afternoon meal. I'm honestly not even sure Erich realizes that it is Easter. I did have a lot of fun earlier this week watching Syd with her Easter egg hunt, so I feel like I had some kind of Easter. I just didn't get the big family meal- but that's ok. Our meal was easy to fix and easy to clean up. Today was kind of just another day. I slept in, did laundry and relaxed. There was no pressure, and I didn't have to go anywhere. And I didn't cry from homesickness! So maybe it was a good holiday after all!