New Beginnings

There are so many traditions that take place during this week every year, other than the obvious which is Easter. I myself have been planning our menu for Easter Sunday for two weeks now, which seems to always consist of a baked ham, devilled eggs, and all the other amenities that usually go with that. I haven’t quite figured out the dessert that I’ll prepare, but the idea of it will come to me before much longer.

Does anybody other than me find it amazing how it always works out that the last cold-spell of the year is always before Easter? I guess the part that I find so interesting is that although Easter is never the same Sunday from one year to the next, sometimes it’s early April, sometimes it’s late, but the cold always seems to accompany it regardless.

I’ve also heard so many old farmer’s tales about Good Friday and the planting of vegetables and seeds. My husband came from a family of farmers and he said his mother would not put one single seed into the ground until Good Friday. Her theory was that the bugs and insects were never as bad on Good Friday, which would lead to less disease and such for what she had planted. Nobody around his house had any other plans for that day other than hitting those fields for planting.

And then there’s the childhood traditions; I’ve already bought all the candy and fun stuff to help the Easter Bunny prepare the baskets. Zach and Ramsey will have theirs here on Easter morning, and Joshua will get his in the mail. And yes, I know they’re all grown-up now, but everybody likes candy and surprises and it makes me feel good so it all still happens.  Zach draws the line at hiding and hunting eggs, but he does participate in coloring them with Ramsey each year at her house for the younger children to hunt.

I’m not sure if they will do the early sunrise service or the later 11am service but they will be there in their pretty new Easter clothes, Zach looking as dapper as always, and Ramsey as pretty as can be. My parents will join us for dinner that day, Zach will recite a special grace, and we will all probably eat more than we should.

As I walked around my yard earlier this morning with my coffee cup in hand, I took notice of all the new growth on my trees, the blooms on my Crab-Apple trees and Knockout Roses, my red Amarillo’s around the mailbox and the Canna Lily’s busting up through the dirt around my sidewalk. This is always one of my favorite weeks of the year. For me, it represents a new start, new life everywhere you look, new beginnings and a freshness that not only can you see, but you can smell, for these precious few weeks every year. 

He’s the reason we’re all here to see it, always be sure to praise it and be thankful for it, every chance you get.