The Waiting Room

Reading Jo(e)'s post about Easter with her children made me think about when I was little girl growing up in Redneckville during the 1970’s (yes, I am showing my age!)

My family would get together with my dad's siblings and their kids and we would all go to my great grandmother's house for Easter. My great grandmother lived in a two bedroom apartment, so four families with a total of nine kids, plus my grandmother and numerous great uncles made it a tight squeeze, but no one ever complained.

The girls were dressed in their cute little Easter dresses and twill around the room, while the boys would run around the apartment trying to get as comfortable as possible, stripping off ties and vests. Moms would be in the kitchen helping with the cooking. Dads and uncles would be watching whatever sporting event was on the TV.

Oh, and then there was the food. All the traditional foods, ham, potatoes, breads, and veggies, but all soul food like fried chicken, mac and cheese, greens, etc…enough to make you want to stuff yourself silly. And dessert! Cake, pies, and ice cream all around.

At some point during the day, all the moms would "disappear" and travel to my grandmother's house to hide Easter eggs for all the kids. My grandmother’s house had a huge back yard with plenty of places to hide the goodies. The rest of the family would drive the over to my grandmother’s and the kids would have a blast finding the plastic eggs filled with candy or silver dollars!

Sadly, my family is not as close today as they were back then. Time, distance and family squabbles have separated everyone. I think the breaking point came when my father passed away in 1988. There was a great amount of family strife around that time and I think there are some family members who have not let go of the past. It is truly sad because my brother and my cousins have children now and it would be a wonderful way to continue tradition to see them running around looking for Easter eggs while the older people sit around and reminisce.

But I am not going to be sad. I am going to smile and take comfort in a joyous time in my life.