Easter is coming

Another Easter is quickly coming. Of course, it's a religious event, as Catholics and Italians, my family practiced Lent, re-enacted washing of the feet on Holy Thursday, fasting and prayers on Good Friday until Holy Saturday noon, all re-enacting Jesus' last days, and then enjoying a wonderful family feast on Easter Sunday.

When I was young, I remember my mother going to St. Joseph's Oratory on Ash Wednesday, and doing a Novena on each of the special steps reserved for praying parishioners, in preparation for Easter. She would do the prayers all the way to the top. It would take her over two hours, and then she would go in and light all the church candles and pray for the workers, the sick, the children, etc. Don't get me wrong, I was able to enjoy the commercial side of Easter, and went on egg hunts, and then got to eat chocolate until it came out my ears. For me, that part of Easter ended when I was nine. I don't know why, but my parents stopped the egg hunt, and just gave me the chocolate bunny or chicken on Easter Sunday.

When my boys were growing up, I did teach them to respect some of the religious side of Easter, and although I don't follow that part of the tradition so much now, I did teach them to follow the Good Friday until Saturday noon tradition, and then made them work hard to get their Easter eggs. Not only did I hide the eggs all over the house, but I had them read clues from a mystery story that lead each of them to their own little toys, and at the end the big chocolate prize.

Well, imagine my surprise, when they were 14 and 12, I announced that since they were getting older now, they probably didn't care much about the mystery hunt. They both echoed the same sentiment: please, mom, don't stop it; we love it. We like the clues, even when we can't figure it out. It's even fun to find them the next day, or a few days later.

Wow! And so, even though Ben will be 19 in May, and Sam just turned 17 this past March, they are anticipating that mystery story with the clues to their eggs, and the grand chocolate prize. Go figure! Shhh! Don't let on that I love to do this too!