I was eleven years old on that Easter Sunday \u2013 all those years ago – and I remember it so well. <\/span><\/p>\n My mom had died the autumn previous, and I felt alone in the world \u2013 although I shouldn\u2019t have. My grandparents, as distraught as they were, became, in many ways, my parents.<\/span><\/p>\n Looking back, I can now see that my grandparents were traditionalists. They had deeply entrenched traditional values and they practiced them and held them in high regard. <\/span><\/p>\n But back then I didn\u2019t label them anything \u2013 they were my grandparents \u2013 they together were the lighthouse that guided me though a dark and stormy time in my life.<\/span><\/p>\n Because my grandparents considered traditions important, Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday were special occasions. And so, they were special to me also… when I was a child.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I can remember going to church on Palm Sunday and each person upon entering the church was given a palm frond. And if I close my eyes, I can smell the Easter Lilies that lined the entryway and the alter.\u00a0 I can see the churchgoers waving their palm fronds. I can hear the congregation and the choir singing \u201cThe Old Rugged Cross\u201d.\u00a0 And… <\/span>I can remember singing along.<\/span><\/p>\n It seems like yesterday and it seems like it was another lifetime.<\/span><\/p>\n To my grandparents, especially my grandmother, Palm Sunday was nearly as important as Easter Sunday. My Grandma often regaled me with the Biblical story of Jesus entering Jerusalem riding on a donkey. He entered Jerusalem in celebration. But all during that joyous day of celebrating, hate and betrayal were festering in the city\u2019s heart, and that hate would lead Jesus to be bruised, beaten. I can hear Him gasping; I can see Him bleeding – as He dragged the heavy wooden cross along the Via Dolorosa…\u00a0 the \u201cWay of Sorrow\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n Good Friday I will never forget the quiet that enveloped my world between 12:00 PM and 3:00 PM on Good Friday. The only thing I have ever experienced that even comes close to that was the day after 9\/11 when the world seemed to stand still.<\/span><\/p>\n Easter Vacation Easter I am ready for church before my grandparents are and I walk outside into the cool and gloomy morning. I am a little bit sad that I didn\u2019t hunt for Easter eggs this morning \u2013 I guess I\u2019m too old for that. My grandmother did put together an Easter basket for me though \u2013 it has a big white chocolate rabbit in it. I wish my mom could be with me this Easter. I am having a tough time accepting that she\u2019s never going to come back and be with me again.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n My shoes are new and shiny, and I can see misty raindrops on them. It\u2019s not raining really, it\u2019s more of a drizzle that comes and goes. I guess it\u2019s the sky crying my tears for me, because I’m eleven, and I\u2019m too big to cry now.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n I notice that for the first time this spring that the tulips are blooming, but just the yellow ones. The red and white ones are not yet ready. Easter rarely comes in March, but this year is the exception. The tulips just can\u2019t be hurried. The yellow ones must grow up faster than the other colors.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n I am standing on the porch of my grandparent\u2019s home, ready for church on this strange and sad Easter Sunday morning. I have a new blazer that my grandmother bought for me and it is too big for me, I think. I am wearing a white carnation that smells nice. I am all dressed up because it\u2019s Easter Sunday and it’s nearly time to go to church.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n I will never forget that sad and emotional Easter. I will never forget the raindrops on my new shiny shoes. I will never forget the too-big blazer, the way the white carnation smelled… or the bright yellow tulips.<\/span><\/p>\n I\u2019ve never had an Easter like that again.\u00a0 Since then, the world sure got busy and full of itself. No one has time anymore. I don\u2019t know which world is better, but my heart yearns to tell me what I already know\u2026 the memories I made are all that I have left of the world as it was.<\/span><\/p>\n I wonder if moms and dads and grandfathers and grandmothers know just how important it is to keep traditions and make special memories with their children and grandchildren. Memories are the only gifts we can give our kids and grandkids that will never wear out, tarnish, or rust. And no one can ever take them away.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Easter is a wonderful time for traditions and memories. Start a tradition. Make some memories. Start right now. It’s Eastertime – a time for renewal and rebirth — and a time to remember and rejoice.<\/span><\/p>\n Happy Easter!<\/span><\/p>\n A Special Easter Raindrops, a yellow tulip, a white carnation, and a brand-new navy-blue blazer. I was eleven years old on that Easter Sunday \u2013 all those years ago – and I remember it so well. My mom had died the autumn previous, and I felt alone in the world \u2013 although I shouldn\u2019t have. My\u2026 Read More »<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14708,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21123"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21123"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21123\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21130,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21123\/revisions\/21130"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14708"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21123"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21123"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21123"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Happy](\"https:\/\/thundercloud.net\/infoave\/images\/2021\/easter21.png\")
<\/span>
\n
\nRaindrops, a yellow tulip, a white carnation, and a brand-new navy-blue blazer.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/strong>
\nGood Friday was another tradition my grandparents held dear. When I was a child, Good Friday was a day when everything closed – stores, shops, restaurants – between 12:00 PM and 3:00 PM. These were the hours during which. the church told us, that Jesus hanged upon the cross spending his last few tortured hours upon this Earth.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/strong>
\nWhen I was in grade school, Good Friday always occurred during Easter vacation. It wasn\u2019t spring break back then; it was Easter vacation. The world changed and suddenly Easter and Christmas were words you can’t use anymore \u2013 at least not in the same breath with schools or government. I\u2019m not saying that is bad or good, I am just saying things changed. Someone let them change. But don\u2019t think the world is any better for it.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/strong>
\nI am eleven years old. It is a misty, cool Easter Sunday morning. Gloomy really. My grandparents bought me a new blazer to wear to church and I\u2019m wearing it, although it seems too big for me. My grandmother went to the florist shop yesterday and bought me a white carnation for my blazer\u2019s lapel. I can smell it without even putting my nose down to it.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n