I was all ‘Bah Humbug’ over the Easter basket thing this year, but caved at the last minute and whipped something together. I’ve only just started attempting to introduce BB to the concept of God, and it’s confusing enough for a four year old, let alone anybody. Add to that bunnies and eggs and a special basket full of surprises — I can’t even begin to imagine how he puts all those together.
It’s funny to eavesdrop on his play conversations with his toys. He was explaining to one that another was God, and that he was red, and had special powers. I don’t know where he got the red part, unless it was because he was playing with stuffed animals, and the one designated as God was the red bear. He also punctuates the end of self-dialog chatter with Amen, now. La dee da dee da dee da, la dee da dee da, Amen. Oh to be four.
I don’t really get the whole Easter basket thing, but my heart softens when I reminisce about how magical it was for me as a child to find that basket hidden somewhere in my room, filled with sugary goodness. I think a lot of that has to do with being so poor and the only occasions in life to ever get candy (i.e., untold wealth) were Christmas, Easter, Halloween, and birthdays. These days, so many kids seem to grow up getting goodies and things all the time, which dilutes the special occasion experience, so that magical joy is missing.
I’d like my children to experience that feeling of wondrous joy and delight, but am not so keen to load them up with gobs of candy. I happened to be looking for clothes for BB at WalMart* when my heart softened, so I compromised and found some storage totes in a relatively spring color, and grabbed a couple of low dollar toys and a bag of Reese’s peanut butter eggs. I filled the totes with the new clothes and toys, and tossed in a small handful of the candy. I hid BB’s near his bed, and I ‘hid’ LB’s under his hammock. I think BB will be delighted.
We’re also having an Easter egg hunt for the kiddos at my SIL’s this afternoon. I bought two big bags of pre-decorated and pre-filled plastic eggs to scatter around, so the kids will have plenty of candy when it’s all said and done. And then I’ll stealthily confiscate most of it, when the opportunity presents itself.
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*I think it’s bordering on criminal that one can buy a complete ensemble of shorts, shirt and t-shirt for $7, but at the same time, am thankful. Hyppocrite. BB is growing like a weed, though. The size 6 things I gave him for Christmas are too small, and if clothes will only fit for 3-4 months, I’m thankful that I can find new ones for so little.
