I love Easter. I always have. I know the roots of this romance were born in new clothes each and every year as a child. Of course, as a very small child, that included not just a new dress, coat and shoes, but gloves and hats and handbags as well. Every year. My mother usually made my dress and that one that stands out in my memory is my buttercup dress. Filmy, gauzy yellow cotton with buttercups and a dropped waist and lace. I LOVED that dress.

I loved dressing my little kids up. I made my oldest son's clothes until he was about 7. That was because I couldn't afford the type of clothes I wanted to dress him in so I made his clothes. I was challenged and intrigued by how hard boys' clothing was to make compared to girls'. I loved that time of my life. By that time in my mother's life, she was completely out of new clothes and into Easter decorations. She made bunnies and eggs. I have boxes of them. And the boxes she never got to finish, all half ready to be painted and finished. Life is beautiful and life is cruel. Life is Easter, eh?

Easter then became a break in the frenetic pace of out of towners each weekend and all nighters meetings deadlines during the week. I loved Easter. I would still dress my children up; the days of the home sewn clothes were far gone, however. Maybe it's just my imagination but I believe the smiles shone just as bright. I loved getting my husband a new shirt and tie, too. I started getting flowers in the house, then. Pots of flowers that made my soul rise and sing. We all spent the day together, in a proper manner and fell exhausted and happy into bed, to rise the next morning and head straight back into the fray.

These new Easters are much, much quieter and in fact, are genuinely still. Last year we were at Cape Cod for Easter. Went to the Kennedys' church and heard a beautiful homily. Easter before that we were at St Jude's in Seattle for an adult confirmation. We don't dress up much these days because the day has completely morphed into a haven where we get together and be together. We will be home this year and eagerly await a very special guest. The house is full of flowers and a few groceries. We will cook a little and go out some as we welcome our beloved daughter. I bought her new shoes. She picked them out. We miss our boys. We love our dogs. The sun shines clear and bright. Tim's dad died and Tim's baby is due any minute. And for this and for pinecones, clear streams and the Big Sky, we give thanks and praise the day in joy and peace.


JBelle
Bellemaison
The 'Kan EWA