Easter Memories

We had one of the best Easter Days in a long time this year.  Maya let me sleep in until 6:34 am and then accepted a bagel, a blanket and a promise that we would check for the Easter Bunny in about an hour.  I even got that hour before both kids landed on the bed demanding that an immediate search for Easter loot be launched.  My wife, never a morning person except where presents are concerned, uncomplainingly left the bed and directed the search.  I worked magic at the Keurig and then later in the kitchen.  Milo finally got the pancakes he’d been craving.  We went as a family to the gym and swam in the pool.  After the gym, we discovered a new restaurant, ate a meal that could actually be considered adult and then enjoyed an orgy of Dancing with the Stars.  Overall, such a great day.

I was reflecting tonight about how Easter was when I was young.  My sister and I bolting down the stairs fearful that the dog had eaten all of the chocolates.  Discovering that the Easter Bunny had left the traditional pairs of rubber boots and raincoats for both of us.  Getting dressed in brand new clothes and going to church.  Sometimes even risking the foundations of the building by bringing my dad along with us.  In my teens, serving as an altar boy sometimes at as many as 3 services.  Finally getting home around noon for a small meal and then waiting for the hordes of family to arrive.  Loud aunts, gruff uncles, cousins you liked, cousins you hated, grandparents laden with treats and extended family too.  Battles would be fought and won, wounds licked and ripped open, in short, a family affair.  And food… there would be so much food that you knew what you’d be eating for the next week even before the first mouth full.  I’m certain that my love of food comes from how eating together was such an important part of being together as a family.

Things change.  Time moves on.  Traditions grow.  Still family at the centre of celebration.

Renaissance and Renewal

 

I recall the first time I learned about the Renaissance in high school history class.  I turned to my best friend and casually remarked, “Hey, people that are smarter, cooler, masters of all things.  Clearly, we’re Renaissance men.”  In retrospect, I must have missed the high school English class that explained the tragic flaw of hubris.  It’s funny but I was never smarter or more certain of anything than I was back then.  Being a teen was so empowering because I figured that i was all grown up now and knew everything.  The path since age 20 has been pretty enlightening and everyday I’ve come to respect and appreciate how little I know and how uncertain things really are.

That being said, I’ve taken some time to reflect and clearly, it’s time to find my voice again.  By the fall of last year, I’d become unhappy with my blog and it felt like I was just bitching about things and not being funny.  I’d lost some ability to find the humour in things certainly.  But we move on.  We deal or start dealing.  We accept and embrace.  So the the time has come to begin anew.  I want to expand my blog beyond just talking about kids and how they shape us.  I want to bring some positive expression and share some of the outlook that’s helping me to move forward.  There will still be lots about family and kids since they are such a big part of my life but expect more side topics.

So new look.  New ideas and new things coming.  It’s all a journey and I hope you’ll come along.