A Different Sort of Easter

Every year since I was old enough to remember, my dad made special egg dye and put it in tiny little bottles. The Saturday night before Easter, the family would gather around the table and color HOT hard-boiled eggs with the vibrant (except for the purple, which never turned out right) colors daubed on with Q-tips. As the family grew, so did the number of eggs colored each year. In recent years, the number was seven dozen so all the kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids could color to their hearts' content. We had some very unusual and pretty eggs (and fingers!), as you can see in these older pictures. Even after my mom died, this tradition continued, with everyone gathering in Dad's kitchen while he supervised the egg-boiling. He never did color the eggs after we grew up, but he always wanted to continue is job. Some of the eggs would go home with us at the end of the evening, and the rest would stay with him to put in some baskets for us and for him to eat, as hard-boiled eggs are a particular favorite of his.

The next day, Easter, we all gathered for supper at Dad's. He bought the ham and the snack stuff, and the rest of us provided the sides and dessert. Easter baskets that had been hidden were found, and a good time was had by all.

This year, things are different, and I have found myself floundering around, not quite knowing what to do. Dad has had a difficult six months, and he is presently in a rehab facility to rebuild strength enough to function at home. At first we thought he might make it home by Easter, but this week it became apparent that he would not. I had not made contingency plans, and now I am caught. I wanted to get some eggs and make the dye myself and do the eggs with our kids and grandkids at home, but Terry did not want to bother with what he terms "the mess." You may be able to tell the ritual was never as important to him as it was to me. So even though the grandkids were all here today, there was no egg coloring. We did hide Easter baskets for them, and then we went to the rehab center to visit Dad. They had a big egg hunt there, so the little ones participated in that. This evening, Alissa and the boys went home. I think Chip and Shira have plans with her family tomorrow, and I believe Doug and Kellie will come here after visiting Dad. It's all so very different, and it doesn't feel right, but that's the way it is, and we just have to adjust. We can be grateful that Dad is slowly recuperating and that he enjoyed the visit from his great-grandkids today, and we can pray that he continues to recover. And we have to remember that, always, life is good...

I hope everyone has a happy and blessed Easter!