Saturday, April 23, 2011

Happy Easter Everyone!



Easter has always been one of my favorite holidays - until recently.

It used to be a time to get up early and watch my children rub the sleep from their eyes, getting excited about their Easter baskets. It was a time to pack up days worth of cooking for the Easter Picnic - which was often in foul weather. It was a family tradition, dating back generations. Often we would drive over the Sierras to California to meet family for our picnic, since Nevada is often raw in the early Spring.

But lately the children are grown, and live 600 miles away. It's just not easy to be together for every holiday. And for some strange reason we forgot about Easter this year and visited our family in Portland last weekend! Why we didn't check the calendar and make it this weekend I will never know.

Anyway, we will do what we did last year and attend a lovely Easter Brunch at the Lone Eagle Grill right on Lake Tahoe. It is always festive, and after a few glasses of champagne I get over the loss of my family tradition. Next year, however, I think it's time to rally the troops and make sure I have everyone together to watch my then-four-year-old grandson compete with his cousins for eggs. I know I'll have to give up one of the other holidays but it will be worth it. I'll make potato salad and milanesa sandwiches, and watch the next generation after our children (whew!), carry on the family Easter tradition.

What do you do?

24 comments:

Grandmother Mary said...

Since we live far from home, we've invited 5 other folks far from their home to join us for Easter dinner. Good food, good wine, good friends- a recipe for a good day. Buona Pasqua (Happy Easter).

Natalie said...

Happy Easter to you too, Nancy. ♥
We are doing the family picnic thing tomorrow, which is ANZAC Day and also Easter Monday here. As well as that, it is My BIL's Bday and Haylie's too this week, so much celebrating to be had.xx

Leilani Tresise said...

Happy Easter Nancy!

Laura said...

Oh my gosh.
I just wrote a post on the same thing.
I know how you feel.

We are going to a neighbor's house for Easter lunch and that just doesn't feel right.

Laura
White Spray Paint

Negerigeletschtempoit said...

Just stopped to wish you a Happy Easter!

We don't have children around either. And no grandchildren to plan for the future. I think I will get all the chocolate eggs!

Brian Miller said...

i hope you have a beautiful easter...heading to grandmothers house to hide eggs today

pam said...

Happy Easter, Nancy! This year, finally we have two of our 20-somethings home and actually got to spend some time yesterday with all three daughters and grandkids. Today we have to have a really early Easter brunch, so that one daughter can drive back because she has to work tonight. It gets harder and harder every year to pull the family together,doesn't it?

My Inspired Reality said...

Happy Easter:) I enjoy your blog so much:):)

claudia said...

I get to work today! But the manager is BBQing hot dogs and hamburgers for us and she has put together a candy, Easter Egg hunt, in the store. (I guess that is one way to get us to clean up!)
Happy Easter to you and your family, where ever they are!

luksky said...

I was lucky enough to have both of my kids with me this weekend. We don't ever really do much for Easter except eat candy. :-)

Steph said...

I am the kid who left in this situation. First year away from home at Easter.
I was disappointed to wake up this morning and not see a brightly-colored basket at the end of my bed. made me homesick.

hope your Easter is happy

Nancy said...

Grandmother - Sounds lovely. We just have to make new traditions, don't we?

Natalie - What a great week for you! I've been thinking about little Haylie's arm - I hope it doesn't impede the hunt for Easter eggs.

leilani - Thank you - enjoy that beautiful Hawaii weather today. It is snowing again here at 6,500 ft!

Laura - I'll have to run over to read yours, too. It is a bit bitter/sweet isn't it?

Negerigeletschtempoit - I have my own little bowl of the chocolate eggs, LOL!

Brian - Enjoy the excitement! It is so much fun.

Pam - Oh, all three home must be wonderful! It gets harder and harder. I think we need to move closer after retirement. But that has it's hazards, too - they can always move away for jobs.

Kala - Thank you. Happy Easter.

Claudia - Same to you. Don't work too hard today.

luksky - Enjoy the candy eating. I have always liked that part, too. :-)

Steph - Ohhhh! I wonder if my soon-to-be 24 year old felt the same way this morning. She did call - luckily she leaves near her older sister and her family. A little nephew to share the fun with. I hope you have something fun to do today.

Kathy G said...

Happy Easter to you, too.

It will be a quiet Sunday here. Hubby and I went to Mass this morning (just like normal), and Son #3 will be coming by this afternoon to help his dad cook dinner. We'll play cards or a game afterwards (Again, nothing different there). However, in honor of the day, dinner is traditional Easter food-ham, asparagus, and salad, followed by a decadent dessert. Life is good.

DJan said...

Co children, no family. So we went to a local lake and walked around it together. We'll eat our usual fare at home today, no special meals. Just what we really want to eat and not too much. Being together with my guy is enough for me. Oh, that and my blogging friends. Happy Easter, Nancy!

Gemel said...

Hope your day was still lovely for you, the place you were going to looks like it would have made up for missing your family, Gods magic was at work to perfection that day :)and you must tell me what are milanesa sandwiches?

karen said...

Happy Easter Nancy! My kids are all at their in-laws this year...I feel like an orphan, but am appreciating a quiet day. Hope you had a lovely day. xo

L'Adelaide said...

oh nancy, i so feel your pain... glad you had an alternative plan in the works...it does seem to get easier and really for me, it's the christmas holidays that do me in when it comes to missing everyone...hoping soon they will all move closer because we're not going anywhere like singapore or austin. happy you were with them last weekend tho!! xoxo

Unknown said...

My grands live far away as well, but last year, they spent Easter with us and we hid eggs, as usual. I found 4 of those suckers (plastic eggs, of course) over the next several months and still can't believe that 3 adults and 2 children didn't see them!

Nancy said...

Kathy G - Sounds like the perfect day to me! Life is good.

DJan - Another perfect day!

Gemel - Milanessa is an Argentine dish that is not for vegetarians - beef that is seasoned, breaded and fried. It was a tradition for many years, but now two of my children are vegetarians, so maybe I need to find a way to make it was tofu!

Maggie's - It feels lonely for a while, doesn't it? But then we fill in the day - and it is just a day after all. :-)

Linda - Christmas is hard for me, too. I hope to have them home this year as I think this is the last year for the big house - with all the trimmings. We are in downsize mode. Heading your way in a week or so - lovely wine country for my husband's 60th! Can't wait to see color.

Gaston - LOL! My Aunt would always hide an egg for each of the adults with their name on it. Some were hidden so well we would have to give up and ask her for it.

GYPSYWOMAN said...

well, easter has always been a time for family get togethers with the little ones looking for all the colored eggs that the big ones have dyed and hidden for them - a big southern style late lunch and then sitting around helping the little ones devour all their chocolate bunnies - i've always loved the feel and taste and sight of spring! a marvelous time of regeneration and promise!

T said...

We hung out, went for a bike road. megan wasn't home. No egg hunts, no easter bunny. I miss those days!

Midlife Roadtripper said...

Like you, I didn't have any of my kids for dinner. My mom and brother were visiting from Wisconsin. We had a lamb dinner.

I even forgot to send the college boy in Alabama an Easter basket. Bad mom. I used to love doing their baskets. Perhaps just needed a year off to remember that.

Nancy said...

Gypsy - Your traditions seem to echo ours. I love Easter because it ushers in Spring, too.

T - Sounds like a nice day. I miss those days, too, especially seeing all the little girls in their Easter dresses at the brunch.

Midlife - I did one for the first few years of their college, and then sort of dropped off doing it - it was hard to know what to put in it. They don't eat candy, and they are way beyond putting their little swimsuits for the season in there with beach toys. :-)

California Girl said...

I too miss the family Easter. Both sons are out of state, different states. luckily they have friends and will enjoy Easter with them.

This year, my MIL made dinner. I prepared a 3 layer Triple lemon cheesecake (a 25 yr old recipe from Southern Living) for dessert. I went to church and my husband went with. He accompanies me at Easter and Christmas. The rest of the time, not much.

Ours was quiet but the food was good, the day beautiful, the flowers I bought were festive and my dessert was to die for. Pretty good all in all.