AN ENCINO EASTER

Easter was always one of my favorite holidays growing up because my Mom made it so much fun for me. We colored eggs and she hid chocolate bunnies and other goodies in the front yard for me to find. I'd walk around our huge front yard and she's say "hot" or "cold" depending on whether I was near finding chocolaty goodness in our various bushes or tucked behind trees or in flower pots. One year it was a bit too hot and a LOT of the chocolate melted and another time our German Shepard Heidi found one stash of candy before I did and chewed open the box. My best Easter find of ALL TIME was an entire box of Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back trading cards. Even though I'm Jewish, I was raised celebrating all the holidays. It wasn't until I was 12 or so in seventh grade that I actually realized that Easter was a Christian holiday and not just a universal one like Valentine's Day.

Friday I went shopping at Ralph's with my friend Cathy to buy eggs and Paas Easter Egg dying kits. This was going to be the first time I'd be decorating Easter Eggs since my Mom died. This year I just felt like I HAD to make them. I always thought it was a fun and creative activity and it was about time to do it again. I bought the standard kit and Cathy got one that had glitter sticks and beads. When we got to the register I realized I hadn't bought a single Cadbury Creme egg this year. Ever since they debuted Cadbury Creme Eggs (I'm guessing in the early 80's), that was my favorite Easter candy and I always looked forward to them reappearing on store shelves for that brief month before Easter. But at the register I realized I didn't have a taste or craving for them and skipped it altogether. I've been diligently cutting out most sweets for the past month and I guess those sweet taste buds have just been dwindling. I realized I also hadn't bought any PEEPS this year and now that was one Easter candy I just had to have. Besides, they're not as overly sweet and rich as the Cadbury Creme Eggs, so I think they would just hit the spot. But I didn't buy any PEEPS on the spot, I'm waiting til tomorrow when they're at least half off! :-) My Mom went crazy around Easter - she had to have Chocolate covered Malt Balls (I remember they came in containers that looked like small pints of milk), and Chocolate covered Marshmallows shaped like eggs. Yummy. Well so far this year I haven't had a single taste of chocolate on Easter, but I had a lot of fun making eggs on Friday (although it wasn't nearly as much fun without my Mom who just brought a wonderful playful spirit to the process). I got to take a few funny pictures of Lucy who briefly let me put bunny ears on her! LOLOL. And instead of running around the front yard looking for Easter treats, I took a rare moment to sit on a swinging bench that hangs at the front of the yard and just took in the blue skies and wonderfully warm weather. I just was thinking of how my Mom used to like to relax on the bench and have picnics in the yard when all of a sudden I started smelling a strong gust of Gardenias - my Mom's favorite flower. We don't have Gardenias in our garden and as far as I can tell neither do any of my nearest neighbors. Was it my Mom sending me an Easter message or just coincidence? The answer doesn't really matter. The Gardenias smelled lovely.




Lucy The Boxador Bunny!



Post Note: I just came across a fuzzy Polaroid of me Easter Egg hunting in the front yard in 1977!