this easter is very different than others. i’m not sure if i want to say worse, but probably not as good.
our typical easter is a large easter meal; the same meal every year, the same things prepared by the same people. since my grandmother died in 2006 everyone gathers at my mom’s house. my mom makes the lamb and roasted potatoes, while my aunts, uncles, and cousins arrive with ham and salads and breads and sides and desserts.
but this year, it seems easter creeped up on us all. my mom sent out the annual email invite to all the people we know will be there anyways, but this year it seemed almost 1/2 of our big family is elsewhere. and then, my mom realized that she too would be elsewhere! she had already planned a trip to miami with jim (her boyfriend), not realizing that it would be easter weekend!
but, she couldn’t just up and cancel easter, so she decided it would go one without her, still at her house, but with me and michael in charge. as soon as i heard this i protested the lamb. not that i will never make a lamb, but so far i never have, and was just not up for the task. so, instead, we are having a very un-easter-like lasagna. and instead of all the usual ham and salads and breads and sides and desserts we’ll just be having one salad and two breads and a dessert (or two). oh well.
the group is also tiny this year. just me and michael, three aunts, two uncles, and a handful of cousin. so, michael and i are hosting a (semi) easter meal without a single member of our immediate families.
my mom and her boyfriend are in miami. my dad and his girlfriend are going to homassasa springs state park. michael’s parents are in palm beach at a wedding. my brothers didn’t come down from school in talahassee since we’ll be going up to see them this coming week. michael’s older sister, melissa, and her husband, joey, already had reservations at palma ceia country club and wouldn’t give in to our pleas to cancel and come to our baby easter instead. and michael’s younger sister, stacy, chose the country club too.
so it’s an unordinary easter… but, as a consolation prize for making us do easter without her, my mom did give me a giant, brazilian, chocolate egg. and as a second consolation, maybe for everyone else bailing on us as well, there were chocolates inside the chocolate egg. those crazy brazilians…
- after our easter meal here, it’s off to the hospital to visit a friend who would probably love to have the little, unordinary easter we’ll be having instead of sitting in her hospital room at tampa general. i suppose easter at home is always good!
