For reasons I won't fully explain... this week will have to mark the end of my blog.
Second. A small caveat... blogs, like every other form of written communication, can be easily misunderstood if you (1) don't know the reader and therefore understand his/her sense of wit (or lack there of as the case may be for me) or (2) if you can't see the reader and his/her expression. So Anon.. if you thought I was taking a stab at you, I apologize. My intent was to be witty when talking about insight into the way my mind works (which for anyone who does know me makes sense - as it can be a mystery). As for welcoming another perspective, it is one of the reasons I have enjoyed hosting this platform. Therefore, I will accept that the comment about isolation serving as my motivator for constructing meaning in every moment was not intended to be an insult, but instead was intended to present another perspective on why I might do the things I do. If I may, let me respectfully assure my concerned readers, I have a healthy - not robust, but healthy - social life. I genuinely think I do the things I do, simply because it occupies my mental and physical energy in a way that satisfies me. Thank you for caring, though. Enough said about that...
Now onto today's entry - the real reason we've gathered.
Even though Easter is over, I thought it was worth sharing this short story because it underscores a motivator for starting this blog. The experiences we create for our children and families can, in many cases, become the memories that help define their childhood. In short, looking for ways to bring wonder into the lives of our children is time well spent. If Erika is any indication, our children do remember and appreciate our efforts. I know it is true of me. As mentioned yesterday, Erika generously shared her Easter tradition with me. You can't always time when a good idea is going to come your way, so if you like this.. tuck it away until next year.
Erika explained that every Easter she and her sister go to her parent's house. After breakfast they gather for an Easter egg hunt. First, her parents hide eggs for she and her sister and then once that is over, she and her sister hide eggs for their parents!!!! I love the twist for a couple of reasons. In some small way, it teaches kids from an early age the importance of being a giver as well as receiver and it provides another opportunity for kids to see their parents as playful and interested in similar activities.
Knowing the dialogue we shared about interesting items to include in Easter eggs, I immediately asked what kinds of things they included in their eggs. Without skipping a beat, Erika replied, "nothing." She explained that for the most part they only hide the empty plastic eggs and sometimes they hide hard boiled eggs. My interest was heightened because it said to me that even at the age of 29, spending fun and recreational time with her family was more important than any piece of candy, number of quarters, tattoos, or other chatchka. It was truly about gathering and laughing as a family. If the point wasn't already crystal clear, it became clear when Erika -with a bright smile and glimmer in her eye - imitated her father who, during the Easter egg hunt, made sounds pretending to be an ailing old man who couldn't bend down to retrieve his eggs.
Quick additional Easter note... Erika's does receive a small Easter basket each year containing favorite candies and some small plastic eggs. This year one of her plastic eggs contained a strip of paper sending her to a closet. An egg in the closet sent her to the oven and the note in the oven sent her to the garage. In the end, Erika was presented with a modest patio table and two chairs for she and her roommate to share. Also, a good idea I thought. There's more where that came from. If my haircut lasted forty minutes, she filled a good portion of the time sharing inspiring stories of thoughtful things her family does for one another. Over time, and with her permission, maybe I'll share a few more.
Before we close out today... Happy April Fool's Day! Yes, I will be back next week and the week after and on and on, for at least a year. It was my attempt to join in the fun... electronically. For better - much better - April Fool's pranks check out museumofhoaxes.com. They have the top 100 of all time.
Signing off until tomorrow when I investigate innovative ideas i(e)mploying "i"...
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8 comments:
Nice April Fool's prank!
Yes...good one...I was starting to panic thinking I would never get my Tuesday phone call....I am still waiting for it! Have a great April Fool's Day!
I don't know how to quit you...
What would we do without this blog?
That is the sweetest story. What a loving family! Please thank Erika for letting you share and I hope we get to hear more.
I have to admit that I'm a little jealous. I know that my family loves me with all they have but they're not at all sentimental like that. My favorite childhood memories involve our annual beach and river vacations that were shared with my many aunts, uncles and cousins.
I think a small treasure hunt is in my boys future... :)
I think it is the little things that we are sentimental about. For Cheryl it was your annual trip. Mine was hunting eggs in my Grandma's "flags" (irises).
Without even trying sometimes we are creating memories that our families will treasure for life.
In my household growing up, we had lots of holiday tradition. Except for Easter. I don’t know what happened along the way, but other than attending church and receiving a basket with candy and a small gift from the Bunny, we didn’t have any repeated traditions. This, I realized after reflecting on today’s highlowaha blog,--was itself my families Easter tradition. Also, I have mused, I can’t always distinguish other holidays in my memory from year to year. We always did certain things---and it takes a lot to conjure up the difference from my 5th grade Christmas and my 6th….while I have fond feelings of nostalgia, the repeated traditions have blurred some of the years together. Except for Easter! One year, we delivered meals to the homebound, once we dined on a traditional ham dinner, another we went out for a fancy brunch. I recall that the year I was in 8th grade, my mother decided to do something special by preparing lobsters for Easter dinner. My family isn’t a regular shellfish eating family---so we didn’t exactly have the proper utensils to open the lobsters. No one thought of that until we sat down to dinner! We soon found ourselves sanitizing items from Dad’s toolbox in order to crack into dinner! One year, when my sibling was a baby, we ate at a Chinese food restaurant and we were entertained by a man doing magic tricks, table to table. The tradition became the lack of one---and discovering a new way to celebrate. It created some of my fondest holiday memories---all outside of the regularly scheduled program!
On a side note: does anyone actually eat that chocolate bunny? After the ears, I was always through with it! Tonight, after dinner with a friend, I stopped by to visit my nieces and nephews. They were making cookies with my sister-in-law. She had taken all of those earless chocolate bunnies, took them for a spin in food processor and was making chocolate chip cookies with them! Perfect!
Tentatively,
Anon
Hey this is Erika! That was awesome and so true! Thank you for sharing some of my most awesome memories!
Erika!!! Thanks for enriching my blog with your great family stories. As you can see, your hard working parents prompted some great discussion about family memories. Relay a thank-you to them for me.
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