When my mom passed away eight years ago, holidays changed. As time passed, we stopped meeting at my parents' house and would rotate holidays at my brother's house or ours, but we moved further away, then to another country, then back again, yada yada yada. Don't get me wrong - we've had some good family get togethers like Thanksgiving at my brother's in 2015; my sister-in-law really outdid herself with the meal and our son loved watching "grey" movies* with the family! It's just that I miss some of the family traditions that we always did.
This year around Easter, I was feeling melancholy and nostalgic and told my husband about some of the things that I missed about Easter with my family growing up. He gave me a big hug and suggested that I try to do those things again...so I did.
My mom always bought the four of us new clothes to look our best at church on Easter Sunday. I don't go shopping very often, but decided to do it. I bought new outfits for the three of us and my dad.
Every year, we'd take a family picture in our driveway with our new clothes on so I did that, too.
We used to have ham, macaroni and cheese, rolls, and lots more for lunch after church. I didn't get around to cooking, but a good friend invited me to her relative's house and we had a delicious lunch there that tasted as good as I remember having at my parents' house growing up. While we were there, we got to dye Easter eggs and have an Easter egg hunt with my friend's sons.
Of course Easter was a great day because we get to celebrate Jesus' resurrection, but it was also a great day because God blessed me with recreating special moments that I used to have with my family.
* That Thanksgiving was David's first time watching a black and white movie which he called "grey". It was "Miracle on 34th Street".
