Happy Easter?

I know I will probably get struck by lightning, but today is Easter and it just feels like any other Sunday. We don't attend church, so no Easter services to look forward to. It's not that we don't "believe", we just sort of dropped of the whole church radar after a feeble attempt at belonging to a church that was somewhere between my Catholic upbringing and Jeff's non-denominational Christian faith. And truly, the main reason we stopped going to church was because our kids became teenagers who ranted and snarled at the thought of waking up on a Sunday morning early to "go sit and listen to some boring guy talk", and we got tired of the fight. So, we just gave up. I guess we could have tried harder to instill good church-going habits into our kids, but it just didn't seem very Christian to say "get in the car NOW or else.....". And it's not like we couldn't join the masses and attend church on Easter and Christmas. We could. We just don't. So, there's that.

And then, there's the sad fact that the kids have grown up, and don't believe in the Easter Bunny any more. So, no bunny, no worries, right? Except that of course I still feel obligated to mark the occasion with an Easter basket and novel gifts for each child. And hide eggs. Filled with mostly candy because trinket-y toys have also lost their appeal (except this year there will be Squinkies. Because I think they're adorable). I could fill the eggs with wads of cash and then the kids would be REALLY interested in hunting for them, but I'm broke so too bad, kids! Hope you enjoy those jelly beans.

It would be glorious if Easter was marked with sunshine and the promise of spring. But we live in Seattle so Easter day is gray and gloomy. Yesterday we got a tease - beautiful sunshine, temps near 70 - but it's gone now. Days like that are fleeting in Seattle, and few and far between (even in summer, sadly!). So, Easter does not hold the promise of a sunny day in which to explore outdoor options or break out the bikes or canoe/kayak for a day on the water.

So, this Easter is just like any other Sunday. Except for some chocolate and jelly beans. And a few surprises. And a delicious dinner. But since the rest of this day has lost a lot of it's "tradition" we'll be having cedar-planked salmon instead of ham. Roasted yams and sweet potatoes instead of scalloped potatoes. Maybe even a chocolate cake for dessert instead of some pastel, fluffy creation. Who knows? We're changing it up around here. Happy Easter!