No Bunnies, No Eggs, No Guests, But HE STILL AROSE

 

Can you remember the days of being young at Easter time?  Typically started out with Palm Sunday, then having a week off from school (when the school district coordinated it correctly), then a church service for Good Friday, followed by decorating eggs on Saturday.

 

On Sunday, after church, we would be given a basket, with green fake grass inside (but not as nice as this basket...many times it was just a plain looking basket).

    

And in the grass we would hope to find some Jelly Beans and one or two delicious (gag) Peeps.  Yes, as a kid they tasted great...now days, not so much so...

 

After church, and after Easter Dinner, the HUNT would begin.  We would look for the painted hard boiled eggs, and especially for the plastic eggs.  You never knew what would be inside the plastic egg...perhaps a note, perhaps a few little candies (ie: Jelly Beans), perhaps a few coins or a even a dollar bill.  Of course, the 'older kids' (all my brothers for instance) had to be told which area of the yard was theirs, and which was for us younger kids...otherwise, us younger kids would not come up with any plastic eggs.

 

Can you remember your first chocolate bunny?  I can..it tasted good, but I was disappointed that it was hollow, but it didn't take away from the taste.  I nibbled on it for a number of days.

 

And later in life I was introduced to the Cadbury Eggs. Oh WOW, those are to die for, especially certain flavors.  They have 25 different flavors!  Not even sure which ones are my 'favorite', because after all, how can you have a 'favorite' when they all taste so good.  Here is a list of eggs from over the years: Chocolate Creme Eggs, Orange Creme Eggs, 'Berry' Creme Eggs,  Mint Creme Eggs, Dairy Milk with Creme Egg bars, Creme Egg Fondant, Creme Egg ice, Holiday Ornament Creme Egg, Mad About Chocolate Egg (Australia and New Zealand), Creme Egg Pots Of Joy , Screme Egg Pots Of Joy, Creme Egg Layers Of Joy, Peppermint Egg (New Zealand), Giant Creme Eggs, Creme Egg Splats, Screme Egg - for Halloween, Screme Egg Minis, Fudgee-O Egg, Oreo Cream Egg (Canada). Introduced in 2016. Filled with a white cream centre containing Oreo cookie crumbs, Ghost Egg , White Chocolate Creme Egg.  What you DON'T see is a COCONUT Egg...just the more reason to like Cadbury.  COCONUT and Chocolate?  Hershey burned me more than once with their Almond Joy Bars and their Mounds Bars...it took me awhile (a number of Halloweens) to realize that they BOTH had Craponut in them.  Yes, CRAPONUT, that is how much I don't like Coconut!  Don't need to worry about that with Cadbury, as you do with See's, Mrs. Cavanaugh's, Chirardelli, Godiva, etc.

 

Hard to talk about Easter without talking about Miss Ann.  She was the Children's Librarian at the Pine Bluff Library for decades.  A few years after I arrived in Pine Bluff, Miss Ann told me to "expect a surprise" when I got home from church the Friday before Easter.  We got home, and Miss Ann and one of her Easter Bunny Helpers had hidden Easter Eggs for my three kids.  It has been  15 years since Miss Ann passed...I miss her to this day.

     

 

As one gets older, being raised in the faith, Easter becomes less and less about Chocolate Bunnies, Cadbury Eggs, and especially a lot less about Peeps.  It is a very special day, a day we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior.  This year Easter, or Resurrection Day as it is known by many Christians, is a day where families were unable to gather, unable to celebrate together.  There were no community Easter Egg Hunts, and most could not attend church except through the Internet.  But it was still a memorable day for us believers.  I hope that you too have had a good day today.  As for us...our Boneless Leg of Lamb is still cooking, and we should be feasting around 5 pm.  Little did I know back then that Lamb was better than Chocolate...