Buckets and Bunnies

Buckets and Bunnies

The controversies have begun, and this time Easter is in the crosshairs. While baseball used to be the national pastime, it has apparently imploded on its own sword of steroids and been replaced with incessant whining. Americans have far too much time on their hands and too much intolerance in their hearts. Glorious Easter is the latest target. Spring bunnies—do they come in chocolate? And egg rolls—isn’t that Chinese cuisine?
I have wonderful childhood memories of Easter. Mother always bought me a new pastel dress, white shoes which I could wear until Labor Day, and a topper, a short, cream-colored coat that keep me from freezing on cold Easter Sunday mornings. At our house church was an every Sunday event, so we weren’t about to miss the excitement generated by Easter.
My brother, Ted, and I loved getting our baskets ready in preparation for chocolate bunnies, jelly beans, and Peeps. The grass was green, not pink or purple, and made of paper. If you ate some of it with your day-old, slightly sticky candy, you did not have to worry about the consequences to your intestines. We dyed eggs until the entire house smelled like dirty feet. Our dad was the world’s best egg hider, and we looked forward to an afternoon of unlimited hunting. Later Mother would make deviled eggs from those that survived. My son-in-law would certainly frown on such gastric endangerment today; but at least, he now knows where I got my instinct for food conservation.
But, alas, some things change with time. The little boys, Bryan and Tyler, are going to their first Easter egg hunts with monogrammed buckets from Pottery Barn filled with plastic eggs. Both boys have a pair of bunny ears. Their ever-indulgent Aunt Grandmother bought them new outfits, stuffed animals, and books from the White House that tell the story of the national Easter egg hunt. Tim made sure they both had Chicago Cubs shirts. New sunglasses will help them find all those plastic eggs hidden in the yard.
This year Easter will add new meaning for our family. Rachel, born on Good Friday, will celebrate her 30th birthday on Easter. Her son, Tyler, will be christened during the morning service. The family will gather as we always do to share the blessings from God.
Easter is about new beginnings, not old grudges. It celebrates life rather than lingering over death. Easter tells us that the darkness of yesterday is giving way to the dawn of today. People of all faiths need the message contained in Easter, the message of hope.
And how do we express our gratitude for this remarkable gift of renewal? Through pastel dresses, lilies, plastic eggs, chocolate bunnies, jelly beans, and Peeps.