How quickly a week gets away on me. Especially when that week is Holy Week.
For anyone who tries to make it to the Triduum (Holy Thursday, Good Friday and the Easter Vigil), especially when many little children are involved, knows that Holy Week is packed.
But, it is packed with goodness.
We juggled work schedules, naptimes and meals to make it to the pinnacle of the church year. Well, we almost made it: we skipped the Vigil as coming home near midnight with five sleeping bodies and the beginning of a scratchy throat was not advisable. Especially unadvisable when 12 extra people are expected for supper the next day.
So, we attended Easter Sunday mass and headed home to hide Easter eggs and begin the peeling of the root vegetables. I decided that I would get the ham cooked well before supper; so, I turned the oven to 325 at around 11:45. However, I failed to take into account that Dave was in the process of hiding Easter eggs and bunnies while the kids rode their bikes in the driveway. This is the point at which communication within marriage becomes vitally important.
I left the oven to pre-warm as I scooped up Isaac to head off to the rocking chair to nurse him. Mid-nurse I began to think things like, "Hmmm, I smell burning plastic. Wonder what that could be?" It took a while for my brain to connect the dots between pre-warming ovens, hidden Easter bunnies and burning plastic; but, my university accreditation kicked in, and I jumped up, babe in arms and ran to the kitchen where I opened the oven door to find a yellow cardboard box, sans its plastic window. Through the missing plastic window I saw a dieing bunny, melting away into brown-puddle oblivion. This was the point at which Dave arrived back from hiding the last Easter egg. Enter the importance of forgiveness within marriage.
Anyway, long story short: we elected Jacob as the recipient of the melted bunny since, by my calculation, it was his turn in the family economy to shoulder some extra hardship. Also, he tends to deal well with missed opportunities when they are thoroughly explained to him (and some other compensation is promised).
With bunny obituaries in hand, the egg hunt began and the slippery slope of sugar-induced behaviour was officially kicked off. I will spare you the details; but, by Monday morning Dave had hidden all of the chocolate and placed it under the care of the dutiful mother. This decision could be an unfortunate decision for the dutiful mother and her weight loss plans.
Our Easter supper was quite wonderful and attended by our family, Dave's parents, his sister and husband, my aunt, uncle and cousin and Fr. Galen. Dave's sister brought Jacob and Hannah the game Jenga ("You take a block from the bottom and you put it on top...") as a belated birthday gift and the twins, Julie and Fr. Galen lay on the dining room floor for the rest of the night cheering each time the teetering tower of blocks toppled to the floor. Joe sat off to the side and cried that he couldn't play Jenga; so, Fr. Galen alternated between Jenga and impersonating various jungle animals. The crying stopped.
It really was wonderful and the Easter graces flowed.
How I love Easter. Not bunny and egg Easter. No, Jesus-risen-from-the-dead Easter. The difference makes all the difference.
So, celebrate; the season lasts 50 days. Divine Mercy Sunday is this Sunday so the graces are ready, waiting and more than we could ever imagine. As one radio host said regarding Divine Mercy Sunday: Imagine if someone put a million dollars in your bank account and you didn't go and take it out. You would be an idiot. That's what this Sunday is like. God is making a 'million' graces and mercies available; but, you've got to go to the bank to withdraw it. So, go to church this Sunday and make your withdrawal.
Off my soapbox and back to my baby.
3 comments:
your story about the bunny in the oven (oh how i crack me up) reminds me: did i ever tell you about how i baked some of the boys' trains?
Happy Easter Elena and family.
Theresa (and family)
Elena, This reminds me of the time Tom hid the Easter chocolate and left clues for the kids to follow to find their treasure. One of the hiding spaces was in the dryer. Fortunately we had to tell because the frustration level was mounting as everyone else was munching chocolate and someone was just not getting the clues. My sister in law left the Laura Secord bunnies in the trunk because the kids were playing hockey in the driveway. It was a warm spring day and the bunnies all melted. She was able to tell the clerk her sob story and the bunnies were replaced - something to do with natural disasters. Don't think it would work for Dave though. Happy Easter! The Lord is Risen as He said He would!
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