Waning crescent and then raaaiiiinnnn

Finally. It wasn’t huge storms but there was thunder and a couple of good soakings. Boy oh boy did we need it. For weeks and weeks we keep getting these forecasts for days with 100% rain and then… Nothing… The sun rises and beats down on us every day all day. I can’t really complain. I’ve lived through many a month of March with days and days on end of zero or below temperatures and/or never ending snow. We did have some little bitsy snow flurries on April Fool’s Day. Guess what? I bet we aren’t done with snow.

The good thing about snow in April, even significant snow, is that you don’t really need to shovel it. If you do, you are basically shoveling water — water that’ll melt by the next day, if not within hours.

Easter Sunday? What a beautiful day! I knew it was gonna be nice and I had entertained the idea of getting the Purple Kayak (the only one here at the moment) down into the river early in the morning. At 30-something, it was a wee bit cold for my taste. Photo memories showed me that the last time Easter fell on April 4th, we were in the middle of a spell of 80-90 degree weather (yes, really) and we did actually hit the river early in the morning. Baggies of Cheerios and little cans of V8 for breakfast. Yesterday, I was content with an early morning walk, layered and accessorized by balaclava and glubs. And a wee bit of bacon to enhance a humble do-it-yourself breakfast.

When we “do” Easter, it’s in a very secular way. I was brought up and confirmed Methodist (the mainstream flavor) but have been agnostic since about the age of three and my kids basically share beliefs similar to mine (I think). I didn’t (I don’t think) try to indoctrinate them in anything. The GG is Catholic and whether or not he shares my beliefs exactly, organized religion doesn’t seem to be a big thing for him and it’s never been an issue. You can live by the Golden Rule (or try to) without being churched.

When the beach urchins were young, we did the Easter basket, egg, and candy routine with a few gifts thrown in for good measure. It was also the time I usually trashed whatever Halloween candy was still left over, usually the stuff they didn’t really like, untouched for months. I dunno what we did when they got older, probably gifts and chocolate still and maybe egg-dyeing. Then they went off to college and study abroad and one worked in SanFran for a number of years. We gave Easter a nod with a steak dinner for two or whatever.

And then, one year, the younger was living nearby and all of a sudden we were doing a (sort of) Easter dinner again. Her idea. I mean, why not celebrate any holiday you can.

So nowadays Easter dinner is the smallest ham I can find, mashed potatoes, asparagus even though it isn’t in season yet and whatever. This year because COVID it was just the two of us and I ordered some lovely sliced ham from Plum catering. It was just the right amount for us with a day’s worth of leftovers.

Cheerio[s]! Kayak Woman

P.S. Me and my brother in my bedroom with an Easter aminal back in the day. I think I had that skirt in 1st grade.

One Response to “Waning crescent and then raaaiiiinnnn”

  1. Margaret Says:

    I celebrate like you do although minus the ham, which I don’t like. Patt was an atheist and Ashley is too, Alison is more difficult to define and I’m a bit spiritual. (more of a deist)