Easter is one of my favorite holidays. I have great memories as a child, of finding my Easter basket, getting a beautiful new dress, hunting for eggs in my grandparents' backyard (there was always one hidden in the tree and atop the clothesline pipe--I couldn't reach it but my brothers helped me), and a fantastic dinner. After dinner we would lay on the floor and watch a claymation movie about the Easter bunny and the discovery of jellybeans.
As a teenager, I began singing with the North Torrance Choir to prepare and perform an Easter cantata each year. Truly one of the most beautiful works of music, it was called "Jesus is the Christ" and this powerful and wonderful presentation of story and song, with its soaring high notes, complex and stunning harmonies and incredible emotion was and is still able to move me like no other music can. My senior year, I was chosen to sing one of the solos, as the role of the woman at the well.
This Easter was wonderful. We spent the weekend up north with family. Saturday morning, we took the girls and their cousins to Baby Animal days. We went for a pony ride, rode the train and of course, pet the baby animals. At my brother's house, we decorated Easter eggs, the children hunted brightly colored eggs filled with candy and tokens to be exchanged for prizes and had a wonderful turkey dinner. We watched the claymation Easter bunny movie and stayed up late to play with cousins. We spent the night at my parents' house and in the morning, the girls received and loved their beautiful new Easter dresses for church (Butterfly stood on a footstep and twirled "like a bell!"). After church, they discovered the baskets left for this special occasion and enjoyed another delectable meal (traditional Easter ham) and more time with cousins.
After leaving my parents, we visited more family, arriving just in time to invite ourselves to dinner and to join the tail end of the Easter egg hunt. More fun and games, more delicious food and more time with family--the things that make this Easter the holiday I enjoy so much.
One particularly wonderful thing about this holiday season was Lent. No, I'm not Catholic and neither is several family and friends who have helped me understand the purpose and sacrifice of Lent. My aunt offers a token of commission, rather than omission, by making a commitment to write everyday of the 40 day period. A gifted story teller and phenomenal writer, the magic she can weave with words is amazing. Using a random word generator to inspire her each day, she tells the stories of her life, perhaps not chronologically but has created a beautifully written narrative of her life. I never commented, feeling my words inferior to expressing how she made me feel but I read everyday and have to admit, am sad Lent is over because I will miss her beautiful words.
And finally, the reason that this holiday season is so wonderful. On the way to church, I tried explaining to my girls why Easter is special. Stumbling a little as I searched for the right words to explain to a three year old, I told her Easter is special because it is a celebration about Jesus and when he was resurrected. I had her repeat the word and then trying to explain the word, realized she didn't need all the details. Her innocent spirit simply needed to know that Jesus being resurrected means that we can live again. That he made a sacrifice so we can be together again. We will live with Heavenly Father and Christ again and that we will be a forever family. His sacrifice, so beautifully shared by Elder Holland is the reason for our joy this season. He lives. He loves us. And because of that very miracle, we can be with Him again.
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