Easter Weekend

Over the years Easter Weekend has been sort of a mixed bag.

When we were little we often were "farmed out" to other other families for Easter week as it became a short vacation without the kids. Mom and dad would head to Salvang and have a weekend while we were off to spend time with our previous neighbors that had kids roughly the age of my sisters. They lived in Walnut Creek. It was a interesting time as I can remember the library and most of the town was relatively new. The libray had a distinct smell of cedar shingles and it was cloistered in the wooded area near a stream. We played games and went through numerous imaginary scenarios together.

We reciprocated with a valentine weekend stayover for their parents.

Eventually the kids got older and so did we. The couple split up. He was into advertising and she had other ideas as to how the family should be raised. One of the girls I heard went on to be a sports producer for a local San Francisco T.V. station.

Easter for our girls many times meant a trip to Disneyland. We rented a cheap hotel room for a couple of days with a spa that was so choline infested that it made your eyes scream. One of these places sold us their last spot and then we could not get in with the key provided. The morning breakfast bar was guarded by an elderly Asian man that looked over the day old treats with an evil eye. They had converted one of the rooms to a breakfast bar area and the families trooped in to save the 12dollar a head breakfast that awaited them in a genuine restaurant.

We have has some interesting Easters with the crowd form Morgan Hill. We used to do a picnic at Kelly park in San Jose. Its a great place with lots to do for little kids. We got muscled around by some large groups and we lost our appetite for that kind of activity. We had one branch of the extended family that insisted on smoking at our gatherings. This did not work for our asthmatic kids so we stopped going.

We had fun their with craft contests and silly hats. We don't do that anymore since out youngest member is now in her 30s.

Easter is always a tough time for my wife. Since the turn of the century to 2005 we spent Easters going back to be with her parents that passed on in 2002 and 2004. That loss is one that is so tough to endure. As the quote from the recent movie the "Rabbit Hole" in reference to the death by car accident of their young child,"It is always with you. It changes but it sits in your pocket like a brick and at times when you reach into your pocket it comes out."

I know my dear brother-in-law Bob has faced this sort of thing for a number of years. He has lost both of his parents. It is still tough for him. I admire his courage.

So here we are in Easter 2011. We are planning to be at a picnic in Fremont. The girls are going to use BART to get there. They are happy about that. My sister and her daughter are headed to So Cal to help out the other daughter in SD. We are happy that mom and dad are planning to come with Bob to the picnic. Sean's dad is also thinking about coming and maybe Bob's sister and husband can make it too. Its going to be a potluck. I am making some pretty cool spring delights in the form of some slow cooked pulled pork, strawberry pie and and some crustini and cheese sampler. It could be a lot of fun.

Hope you are going to have a great Easter!

: ) Pat