Easter 2014

Today Facebook is filled with pictures of extended families gathering together, girls in frilly dresses, little boys wearing bow ties, church goers, multicolored cheap-o plastic eggs, huge filled easter baskets, Pinterest worthy Easter meal preparations, etc.

The truth, my Easter was spent working 7pm-7am on Saturday night into Sunday morning.  

So this morning we weren't one of those church going families, there weren't any frilly dresses, or boys wearing bow ties; and the hardest part of the day for me…there weren't any extended family gatherings.

I always feel like I get to this point of being happy here, feeling a sense of blooming where we land.  Then a holiday comes, and these feelings of homesickness come flooding in full force.  I'm not sure if it is the pregnancy hormones that are compounding this, or maybe the lack of sleep too, but today was just emotional.

In no way am I not thankful for everything we have, in fact it really was a pretty swell day after I came home and slept for a little bit.  

The kids were so excited, and had been counting down the days till Easter since last Sunday.  After checking out their easter baskets, they spent the day hiding and re-hiding those multicolored cheap-o plastic easter eggs.  Why I fill them with anything is beyond me, the real excitement for them isn't the candy/coins inside, it is the joy of the hunt.

Then this afternoon we went out and enjoyed the 80 degree sunshine.  Rocket blasting, brothers wrestling, flower picking, toe-nail painting, trampoline jumping, high-in-the-sky swinging, popsicle snacking, and four-wheel riding.  

Dinner tonight wasn't Pinterest worthy Easter meal preparation at all.  In fact, the truth - Ryk ate a waffle, Jovie had cheese and crackers and fruit salad, Kip at yogurt and granola, Paul had nachos, and I ate a grilled cheese sandwich with a grapefruit.  Seriously. 

After a long day spent outdoors, when I was rallying the kids up to head inside to wash off the sweat, popsicle sticky-ness, sand, and dirt to get them ready for bed, Ryker told me "mom you are the greatest, and I just love our backyard."  

My wise beyond his 7 year old self little boy did what I struggled to do all day long.  He looked past the ideal - extended family gathering, church going, multi-colored cheap-o easter eggs, girls in frilly dresses, little boys wearing bow ties, huge filled easter baskets, Pinterest worthy Easter meal preparations, etc…and enjoyed this day for what it was.

A beautiful Sunday, celebrating this life we have, with his favorite people ever.

And that moment right there, it was exactly what I needed.  

Happy Easter!