Since I was a child Easter has excited me. I think it is because I was raised to know the REAL meaning of Easter and then also encouraged to believe in the bunny who hops down the bunny trail. Oh, the smell of vinegar and the colors that Mama made appear in the "pudding glasses". The clang of the spoons in those glasses and the magical colors that would appear bring a smile to my heart. We would look forward to lunch at Mawmaw's or Granny's (or later: Aunt J's or our house) so we could hide eggs with Sa-Sa & Zach. I just hated having to eat the eggs afterwards...yuck! I still dye eggs every year even though I have no children. It wouldn't feel like Easter without that Paas box full of color and fun.
I loved the bunny and still do. My bunny is of course a different bunny now that I live away from home but he still visits every year...I make him! I am thinking of a picture Mama has of Jules & Me on Easter morning. We are sitting in our new little dresses (granted Jules is a senior in high school in this picture) with our Easter baskets before church. I am of course cheesing real big so proud of my chocolate bunny, little lip glosses, etc and Julie has this miserable look on her face with her basket of the same loot. God love her...she was a sport to play the role with her 8 year old sister. Oh, the bunny....
My Meemaw always got me an Easter dress...it was her "thing". The shoes were always a part of the deal too and if I was real lucky I got a purse. Some years she wouldn't get to help us pick our Easter duds out so she would send money for Mama to take us shopping. We always took a picture of our dresses so she could see us in them. She also did this same thing at Christmas. Oh, the beautiful dresses I had. My favorite was my Laura Ashley in the 10th Grade. The last Easter dress my Meepster bought me is still in my closet and I wear it often. It is a black shift dress (as my Mawmaw refers to them) with big white polka dots on it. I have had that dress for 6 years now and it was the last dress she bought me. I miss her at Easter because she loved getting us ready for the big day. I am sure she enjoys being with Jesus on Easter a lot better though, don't you?!
Jesus, the Messiah, Savior, King of Kings, Sacrificial Lamb...the list could go on and on. Wow, what a thing to celebrate not just on Easter but every day. Easter just makes us reflect on it more than most of us do on a daily basis. The fact that Jesus rode into town on a donkey speaks to me most this year. (Every year I try to focus on something new) The donkey is it this year. He was a King, our Savior, the Son of God and he did not demand a chariot or a white horse but a simple donkey. How humbling. The manger was a humble entrance for a King. A donkey and a cross were a humbling exit for a king.
Jesus, my precious Jesus. Thank you for dying on that tree, taking that unbearable beating and enduring the nails and the crown of thorns for me and all my inadequacies. I am so undeserving of you sacrifice. Love is truly a cross and our Savior proved that love for us.
Happy Easter!
Abby
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back yard. We had to always make sure all the eggs were found so they wouldn't start "stinking" after they rotted. I spent as much time looking for eggs as you and Jules. But it was alot of fun.
I also think of the smell of vinegar at Easter. Your Mom was religious in dying those eggs every easter eve.
I am so proud of the lady you have become and love you so much.
Daddy