Say what? You read that one right.
But first, egg hunting!
In the 15,000 spring colored eggs that quivered under every child’s breath in the verdant grass of the park, not a single one was left for my daughter and her friends. We missed the noon mark by two minutes! Which is exactly how long it took every single child in the park to bag those eggs in their pretty baskets. Last year wasn't any different either; with the girls not being able to walk just yet we merely strolled around the park.
And so, my friends and I decided right at that moment to set up camp next year, get our war paint on (lipgloss and sunscreen) and Alpha-mom our way into the park for some goodies. All in good fun, of course. :)
And so, my friends and I decided right at that moment to set up camp next year, get our war paint on (lipgloss and sunscreen) and Alpha-mom our way into the park for some goodies. All in good fun, of course. :)
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| Trading eggs with a good friend. |
Nevertheless, we were somehow prepared this year. Our contingency plan worked out well for the kids. Maybe it's a mother's instinct to do so, but we brought our own novelty filled eggs - just in case. We didn't think they'd run out of eggs, at least I didn't. I thought, if it got too crowded for our toddlers, then they can have a separate hunt of their own. Just a few minutes late. So, we soldiered on and happily scattered the eggs on the grass and let the kids run loose . It was an open park, so hiding the eggs weren't an option so we set them on the grass, a splash of color suddenly rolling around in the lush greenery.
We laughed in the face of our staged egg hunt or as my brother-in-law called it - forced fun, as I planted our colorful eggs all over the grass and without much thought I uttered "We are in charge of our children's memories" through a smile. "If they've ran out of eggs for us, we bring our own".
We laughed in the face of our staged egg hunt or as my brother-in-law called it - forced fun, as I planted our colorful eggs all over the grass and without much thought I uttered "We are in charge of our children's memories" through a smile. "If they've ran out of eggs for us, we bring our own".
 And why not? Because at the end of the day it doesn't matter who put those eggs there as long as it was fun for everyone. It pleasantly caught me by surprise too, what mother's are willing to do for their Littles. If only for the good and happy memories it will create.  |
| Kids of all ages. |
Which now brings me to the felony.
The buffet place we decided on for lunch after our time in the sun had a little corner with a wooden bench all set up in pink and pastel for the Easter Bunny. Mandarin was running back and forth across the room playing with her friends, probably fueled by general aroma of sugary sweets on the dessert isle. Suddenly I noticed her dart across one end of the the room towards our area, our friend's daughter on her tail, and a staff member of the restaurant behind her.
Apprently, Mandarin had borrowed the (toy) carrot from the Easter Bunny's lair. She was running as fast as her feet could hustle, mouth open, wind in her hair, holding up the plastic carrot like an Olympian's torch. She went straight for the wall right next to the fire exit door where we were seated nearby and cornered, had no option but to give me the carrot. Which she did, willingly, followed by a wailing complaint that took several minutes to pacify.
We all had a good laugh and while this memory of Easter weekend will probably be one of those that will be re-told in many of our dinner tables through the years, I was sadly too slow to draw out the camera for photo evidence.
Of course, at this age she still doesn't know any better and I wondered if she took in any of the lessons I tried to instill in her at the moment about not taking what's not yours and not complaining when asked to return something.
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Silly Rabbit.
Easter Sunday was uplifting. We were out and about with family; Mandarin picked out some wildflowers and gave me my very first spring bouquet. It doesn't matter that they came from weeds, they were lovely and heartwarming just the same.
Back home we fired up the grill and got creative in the backyard with some sidewalk chalk. Suddenly, the cosmos appeared on the pavement and all other possibilities emerged, like shapes and balls and a finger's taste of chalk - that did not seem appealing for a second helping.
Chalk dust is not tasty.
We spun around in circles and laughed out loud with abandon. And the day fizzled out with a smile on everyone's face. 
We face the week ahead full of opportunities to make good of something that unexpectedly goes wrong.
Much like having all your eggs in one basket, colorful and creative ideas are there for the taking. You just have to pick one, crack it open and see what surprise lies ahead.
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