Easter Traditions

I am a total holiday junkie. My mother always jokes that my brother Angel and I enjoy the holidays more than our kids. We literally get giddy with excitement when a holiday arrives, like that feeling you used to get as a child the night before Christmas. My brother would literally camp under the tree and watch the clock until it finally turned 12:00 am to shout "IT'S CHRISTMAS!" We can open our presents!" 

We share such fond memories and I feel an overwhelming sense of fulfillment every time I create these new moments with my own children. That's why this year, Easter meant something different for me. The significance of Easter remains the same and we celebrate the sacrifice Jesus made by dying on the cross for us and then rising on the third day. But the childhood experiences are changing slightly. Not only was I getting ready to help my children experience new moments this Easter, but I was going to be creating new moments for myself and hubby.

As tradition, we usually dyed eggs at home and at some point in the weekend leading up to Easter would take the kids to hunt for eggs either at home or on a local farm. In preparation for the dyeing and the hunting, a few days ago, I ran into my local Target, ready for the Kentucky derby. My empty cart looked so sad, like it was asking to be filled to the brim with Springtime treats and goodies. I was ready. I had on my running sneakers, hair in a bun and kids at home with daddy. Nothing was going to stop me from getting all of my shopping done that night.

I was not about to get distracted so I charged straight ahead, to the back right corner of the store, where I knew the seasonal merchandise was located. I resisted the temptation to veer into the women's clothing or household appliances. "Ooh, milk. I need milk". I temporarily veered off and grabbed a half gallon of organic milk on my way to the back. Focus Marilyn. Focus.

The Easter/Spring department looked like a scene out of the Willy Wonka Chocolate Factory. The florescent green, yellow and pink aisles were dripping with chocolate bunnies, chocolate crosses, baskets, plastic eggs, egg dyes, and a slew of egg shaped candies. 

First on the list...treats to fill up the eggs for our egg hunt. Everything was either in the shape of a pastel-colored egg or a bunny. "Ooookaaayyy, no healthy alternatives here," I thought to myself. But I wasn't about to snob off Target. I love Tarschet (say it with a French accent).

I knew I didn't want chocolate, a major shocker coming from me, a life long devotee to chocolate. My middle name in High School was Chocohaulic. But things were different now. I was trying to make better choices for our family. In fact, yesterday after school we dumped out all of Daniel's eggs from school and spread the candy on our kitchen table. I asked him which he would like to keep. "None mommy. None of these are healthy." Eureka!! Did my 4 year old just say that? Bliss.

"I know," I thought. "What about gummy snacks?" I skipped over five aisles of chocolate and after what seemed like 20 minutes of hunting, found a teensy tiny section of gummy snacks. "Aha!" I picked up the box and flipped it over. Were the ingredients in French, Dutch, Arabic? It couldn't have been English. The ingredients looked more like a science equation than a food list. I am certain there are healthy fruit snack options that exist, but this was certainly not one of them, so I opted against them. 

This was the first holiday where I felt like the odd one out. I had to overlook the popular options to find some for us. Then in the corner of my vantage point, I spotted a small box of Spring shaped goodie bag toys and erasers. Bingo! Kids like toys and fun-shaped erasers. New experience #1 - no candy in our Easter eggs.

The next mission was to find the dyes to color our eggs. Then I thought, "We can probably color the eggs with ingredients we have at home." So I happily checked out with my small bag of toy erasers and toys for our egg hunt. Less than $5! Sweet!

New experience #2 - we dyed our eggs with natural foods. Yesterday we filled our bowls with our concoctions. Paprika, water and vinegar made orange. Coffee and vinegar made brown. And beets, water and vinegar made pink. Daniel and Mia had such a great time. I could see the little wheels turning in their innocent minds as they dipped each egg into a new color. 

I will always be a holiday junkie. I will always celebrate traditions and now, when and if the moment presents itself, I will make an effort to create new traditions. New moments. New experiences that my children will one day re-live and hopefully cherish.