Robin Reports From In The Thick Of It

The Holidays are Blessed Events

It is Easter Morning, and there is a special feeling in the air. Due to tradition, you can bet on it, I have Easter baskets for all my children to indulge in.  My Mom always had them for us kids all the way through college. It was something special we could always count on.  No way would I let this tradition stop. The day will start with lots of smiles.  Later today we will be spending Easter at my sister's house with her family and my parents.  I love the holidays.  The kid's sports are canceled for this occasion, and it finally gives us some time to spend with the rest of our extended family. Christmas seems like it was a year away, with our busy lives and all.  Tradition is truly the glue that keeps our bonds strong.

My sister and I have spoken the last few days about what we will be serving for Easter dinner. We spoke about the Easter egg hunt that will happen later today and all that it will entail. Many phone calls were made discussing the Easter meal we are preparing together. I think we spoke more on the phone the last few days then we spoke in three months.  The holiday has made our communication a necessity. I am grateful for it.  During the phone calls I slowly caught up with what my neice and nephew have been up to, and other members of our family. 

Good Friday is the day our family always decorates eggs. The kids are out of school. The act itself provides a setting for us all to do a project together.  It's always fun to decorate eggs.  It brings out the artist in all of us and we try to decorate an egg in a more unique fashion or better than the year before.  There are lots of smiles around the table. Lots of giggles with the inscriptions that are put on the eggs before coloring.  This year was  my daughter and her boyfriend with a heart on one, Cubs forever on another, Sox rule, and AIM names.  My kids are very proud of their AIM names. Bottom line is that it gave us an opportunity to enjoy one another in a relaxed setting.  The clock was slowed down for the occasion.

The other day, we spent Passover at my friend's house.  There were 30 people there. My daughter pointed out how fun it was and declared it as her favorite holiday of the year.  And there are no presents. It was due to the kids running around the house, finding the Afikomen together.  It was singing the songs at the table and watching Uncle Irving sing them out to the roof tops and getting a giggle out of it.  Everyone joined in singing the songs louder and louder until we were all practically screaming the chorus every time it came up. There is a service you participate at the table before the dinner.  Everyone is included in the service.  Every person recites more than one line from the Sedar books.  Every person is an integral part of the event. One family recites together one part, the next family recites the next part.  Then the children recite together certain parts and then the adults. Participating in the service is great fun.  Our host gave the children $2.00 bills as a reward for handing over the Afikomen. he bartered with all the kids what would be an appropriate amount to give to them in exchange of this treasure they have found. They love to feel the power! They  love getting the $2 dollar bills as they are unique.  And they are cut off a sheet our host buys once a year for this occasion. (They are real). Celebrating the tradition with food and friends is such a rewarding experience each year.

No matter what holiday you are celebrating with your family and friends, the holidays are blessed events. The holidays provide an opportunity to celebrate life and love with the people who you hold dear in your life. We slow the clock down and reconnect with family and friends. The traditions are always fun to participate in.  My kids are twelve and up and are looking forward to the great egg hunt later today with their cousins.  I am looking forward to the traditional meal we have with ham and all the dressings.  I am relieved we have this special day that provides us the time to reconnect with the people that are special to us.  The last few months going to see my parents has been an objective I have not met.  Thank God for the holidays. I cannot wait to give them the biggest hug and sit down for a couple of hours and share our lives with one another. I will come prepared with camera in hand to catch the very special moments we share today.

Time to prepare for Easter day.  There is a jump in my step today and excitement in the air. All the daily obligations and chores are set aside. It is a blessed day. And we got a glimpse of Peter Cottontail yesterday at my daughters basketball tournament, though it is a bit frigid outdoors, Peter has not given up on the holiday.  Okay, maybe it was not Peter, it was a friend of his.  A bunny surely crossed our path and made us feel Easter is surely on it's way.

Want to learn more about the origin of the revered Easter Bunny?  Check out The Crafty Hare

Enjoy your special day!

 

Spring Break With The Family

   Spring vacation is the remedy to a long cold winter. Just back from a week of 85 and sunny every day.  Have a little color and had a lot of relaxation time.  It was a great time to get back in touch with my kids doing the little things.  Not sure about your house, but my house is non-stop action the entire school year.  It was nice to have relaxed meals together;  to lay out at the pool and giggle with one another.  Swimming with my youngest was a great time. Snuggling in bed watching TV was great fun and we felt no guilt doing so. Possibly you too saw the slime fest on Nickelodeon.  Spring break is a great time to reconnect with your young ones and re-establish the very special relationship you have with the members of the family. Okay, the mountains and the palm trees and the blue sky really made for a great setting.

It was the simple things that meant so much.  We would get up in the morning and go for morning walks as a group.  Okay, as we got heated our water bottles became sprinklers as we showered each other.  After a few days in the sun, we took off to LA and hung out at Kitsons, Ivy's restaurant and drove around Hollywood, shopping for a day. It was fun to sight see.  My daughter celebrated her twelfth birthday and got her hair cut at a salon famous for doing the "stars".  She felt so special. Back at the resort, going for meals together was pretty special as well.  Given we did not know many people on our trip, we spent a lot of time with each other.  We would sit at dinner sharing different courses with each other.  Ordered dessert for the three of us.  Everyones fork in the cake. My little one would sit on my lap come dessert every night. It was a great bonding experience.

Our everyday lives go so fast we don't have time to talk. You know, more than a minute. We spent hours at the pool covering many different conversations. We talked about the past, the present and the future.  We checked out the hot guys together- teasing one another. We applied suntan lotion to one another, shared our pool drinks.  I feel so tight with my children. 

The best part about leaving for a week or so is to leave all your responsibilities behind.  It makes for so much down time to rejuvenate.  Though the costs of vacation, can make you feel a bit squeezed for a while, the memories we made together, the reconnection to one another made the trip well worth while.  And you know, we all could not wait to come back with a healthy tan. Now we head into the final quarter of the school year.  Spring gets busy.  The outdoor sports start up and the school year starts to wind down with concerts, end of year parties and such. Spring break really gave us some time to build up for the exciting spring season.  I hope you and yours were able to get some down time with each other before the kids head back to school. As for us, we have hockey, basketball and soccer tournaments coming up in the next month. Oh, and my daughter has her theater production coming up, The King and I.  Easter and Passover will be celebrated this week.  A very joyous, busy time of year for our household.  I am grateful we got away and relaxed for a week. We got back last night and already decided where we will head next year.  Cabo here we come!

It's nice to have a destination for next year in  mind early. When things get hectic, we know we have something great coming up in the future, where we will again relax, rejuvenate and re-establish our bonds. Spring is here and we are ready to "Play Ball".