Let’s go back in time a little. Back to the 80’s and 90’s when I was a kid. There I am, sitting in the backseat of a non air conditioned car with my feet reclined because there is a cooler jammed on the floor. I’m sitting beside my older brother for a 4 hour car trip on Easter to see my grandparents who we only see a few times a year. There are no handheld game devices, MP3 players or other forms of entertainment available. I’m literally sitting in a car for what feels like an eternity, doing the only thing I can do which is look out the window and daydream.
Once we arrive at my grandparents apartment building, we lug our bags upstairs and the smell hits me like a a ton of bricks. Old people food. Corned beef. Brown beans and bacon. Scalloped potatoes. Que the horror music.
Once inside their tiny apartment, my brother and I are submitted to watching golf or the Ten Commandments. The only real entertainment we have is playing with my brother’s Lego.
It’s Easter, so on Sunday morning we search the apartment for all the foil eggs and perhaps we also get a new spring jacket or a puzzle book. Nana also would get chocolate covered marshmallow eggs from the bakery and have our names put on them. Happy Easter, eat some eggs and turkey and we are done. No fuss, no muss.
Let’s fast forward to today. I look back on those trips and as mundane as they sounded, they were the best trips. The best memories. The best family time. Simple, uncomplicated time together. Is this not what we should want for our kids? Why do we need to make everything so FUN and so COMPLICATED and EXHAUSTING. I once felt bad for not being a Pinterest mom. I would go on Facebook and see all the delightful crafts and decorations that the other moms friends were doing and feel like I should be doing the same. Not anymore. Good for you Facebook moms! I’m glad you somehow found the time and energy to put all that together, but in the end is your kid really going to care about the craft or are they going to remember the time they had with you? We didn’t dye eggs or make crazy crafts as kids. And if we actually did, I don’t remember it. I remember taking a walk on an Easter Day to a bridge that I still love today. I remember sitting on my Nana’s balcony and having girl chats. I remember sitting around watching the Ten Commandments and falling asleep before it was over. I remember my grandfather eating the foil eggs before we got up one year.
Making memories shouldn’t be about making anything other than time for eachother. It’s about a family gathering around a table. It’s about a car trip where we sing and talk and laugh together. It’s about knowing you are surrounded by people who love you. Throw in a bit of chocolate and the memories are complete. This is all I think it should be about.
Happy Easter to you all. May the memories you make all be happy ones!
KidMitts 