Letting Go of Tradition

As the oldest of five children, every holiday was a party even if we celebrated alone. Easter was no exception. We would wake up early in the morning and go on our first hunt of the day, for our Easter Baskets, followed by church. An Easter egg hunt and of course food, was next but the location throughout the year varied. Sometimes it was just us and sometimes with our extended family (which meant an abundance of people). Small was never a word used to describe our gatherings.

Flash forward to the present and three kids later, I have continued this tradition. For the past few years my siblings have come over and we would have at least 12 kids total. I love the sound of a full house, kids playing and a never ending supply of food. Our Easter egg hunt was held in stages allowing the younger ones a fair chance, and who ever found “The Lucky Egg” was rewarded with a cash inside. We would continue the games with sack races, three leg race, etc. to exert our competitive nature. The younger kids would go first, the middle aged kids, next and of course the adults got in the action by going last.

However, this year my siblings were not making it out to our home. Aside from feeling sad, I was completely unsure as what to do. It was hard for me to comprehend such a small egg hunt and the elimination of games. I struggled to come up with a Plan B. Then, we were invited to one of my husband’s family gatherings (a small wedding) and we decided we would just do that. Unfortunately, we thought it was in town but in reality it would have been 8 hours of drive time (there and back) for a three hour visit. So we decided not to go. I found myself in a panic and desperate to hang on to our traditions.

I was brought to my knees and given relief with a calming peace to just let it go. My husband reassured me that we could have a fabulous Easter day with just us. We decided on a Easter menu and our hearts were set on having a day of fellowship and praise. I called my mother and brother in law and invited them over for lunch, thinking for sure they already plans, but they were free. I texted my step-son to solidify plans for him to be over for church and lunch and before I knew it I had a mini Plan B.

Sunday morning, our kids woke up and I made pancakes for breakfast, they searched for their baskets, we went to an amazing church service, and went home to prepare for our guest. Our guest arrived and after my husband blessed our food, we ate and ate some more. There was only one other child besides our own, so we had a mini egg hunt inside the house and a confetti egg “eggstravaganza”. It wasn’t the big family affair with all the hoopla of years past BUT it was wonderful and just as God intended it to be.

In retrospect, I learned that the legacy of love and togetherness trumps tradition any day of the week.