 I started coloring Easter eggs with my children when they were two years old. My children are now grown and have little ones of their own. When they were growing up we colored eggs and the children would hunt for them in the garden.One of my earliest memories:I was three years old. My parents took me to an Easter Egg Roll. I spotted one huge rabbit Must have been on steroids! Then,
Oh My Gosh, a multitude of gigantic rabbits appeared around the bends of a beautiful garden.
Then, there I was, on the edge of a ginormous lawn surrounded by dozens of children. My eyes grew the size of giant saucers pervading the brightly colored eggs as far as a small child’s eyes could see!
On Your Marks, Get Set, Go! Throngs of children bolted across the lawn gathering brightly colored eggs in their path. Memory told me that it was the large high school football field across from our house in Clairemont, California. I later learned from my mother that it was actually Scripps College where my mother had gone to school and the enormous bunnies were actually college students! To this day, as I write the words, I can feel the thrill of several huge rabbits and subsequently trying to avoid being trampled by older children running to gather colorful eggs.
When my children were off to the University I felt nostalgic for the Easter egg experience.
Then a light went on in my head!
Fran, you can color eggs and decorate your dining table and kitchen with them as you always did!
This year we will have a large family gathering at my mother’s house. There will be lots of little ones running around hunting for eggs. I am coloring four dozen eggs. I now love coloring brown eggs. The colors turn out rich and sophisticated. Check out the blog post my sister wrote about delicious recipes to cook with hard-boiled eggs after Easter on my niece’s blog, Girl’s Gone Child on her Eat Well page!
The Easter Brunch tradition started in my husband’s family the year Pete and I were married in 1974. I loved the new tradition so much. Pete came from a large family of four brothers and sisters. There was always a lot going on in their household. We all sat at a long dining room table. My father-in-law loved to cook, which was something that impressed me at 16 years old when Pete and I started dating. But that is another whole story in itself. Perhaps future blog material :) Let’s just say that we would have a huge spread with my future father-in-law’s famous baby back beef ribs! Soon there were little ones running around and Pete’s sister, the greatest Aunt ever would be in charge of the Easter Egg Hunt. By the way, Julie made specially decorated eggs for all the adults starting that year in 1974. In later years she spent hours personalizing each egg for each person at the brunch.
Julie, my sister-in-law was so into the Easter egg hunts that even when all 15 nieces and nephews were in college she made them all go to the back room of my in laws house while we, their parents, hid all the eggs trying to make the hiding places very difficult, may I add!!!
One year, Pete and I had Easter at our home. Our adult kids, some of them married by now got a great idea. Everyone arrived and was enjoying late morning cocktails when my oldest daughter announced:
This year is going to be different, Aunt Julie. We, the adult children, are going to hide the eggs for all of you.
Gaels of laughter especially from Aunt Julie! We were instructed to go to the back room while they hid the eggs!
We each have our own special traditions and memories.
Here’s to a Happy Passover, Easter and Egg-licious (is that a word?) Season!
Bye for now,
Rippin’ Lips
Francesca |
