The Easter Holiday

My children make Easter so much fun. Even my grownup children (except Wesley) come home every year to do the Big Race for the Easter Candy. It takes me probably three hours to hide all the candy and it takes probably three minutes for my children to find it all. Every year there is a play-fight to see who will leave my bedroom first, since this is an advantage in getting the most candy in the fastest time. This year, since Steve had surgery on his leg and still had about 15 staples in it, and since Kjersti was 8 ½ months pregnant, they got to go first. The other kids did “Rock, Paper, Sizzors” to decide the rest of the order. Who knows who gets the most candy? It seems irrelevant, really, when the race is over. All the children sit in the front room and count their “Bunny Munny.” The Bunny Munny comes in various denominations and it isn’t always the one with the most who has the highest count. (Like you could have ten ones, but it wouldn’t be as much as three fives.) Theoretically, the one with the highest count wins, but then the married children combine their winnings with their partners’ to muddy the waters – “Two bank accounts equal one bank account” – and Wes takes his “Candy Tax.” Then the bargaining starts. “I’ll give you all my special dark chocolate and three caramel eggs if you give me your Reeses White Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup.” There is always enough candy to go around, plus some. The Law of Abundance and my knack for over-doing things guarantees that. But it all makes for a great time.

After the Big Race this year, the whole family went to hear Wes speak at the Church of Religious Science. I have always loved to hear him speak and he was as good as I remember. He got a standing ovation in the second session. Then he and Joy came to have Red Beans and Rice with the family and we played some games.

I agree with Ms. Armstrong on dooce.com when she says that you can’t explain the connection between Easter and the Easter Bunny to a two-year-old. “Look, Sweetie, this giant bunny with a bow-tie is going to break into the house while you are sleeping because Jesus died for your sins.” But there is nothing mysterious about all the love that passes between us when we celebrate the holiday together. The combination of personalities in our family is an unmistakable synergy. It feeds me and renews my soul.