At Christmas time I wrote about how it wasn't always much fun being the parent during major holidays (or for that matter, ever, but let's not go there). Easter, I would say, does not fall into that category. It's fun to be parents on Easter. First of all, it's not a very difficult holiday. I don't cook a fancy Easter dinner at home anymore -- we go out to eat! All we do for Easter is (1) dye hard-boiled eggs, and (2) hide baskets of candy and eggs around the house and yard for the kids to find. Nothing to it, especially since I reuse the baskets and stuffed animals and plastic eggs year after year. And it's fun to hide the eggs and it's fun to watch the kids look for them.
Though having to put on shoes before we go outside to hunt (because of the stupid goatshead stickers all over the yard) is not enjoyable. I have to remember that in Boulder it was probably too cold today to go outside barefoot!
After the initial finds (which were many -- we hid plastic eggs all over the house), Rocket Boy sneaked out and hid the hard-boiled eggs in the backyard, so then we had a second hunt. Great fun for all, though there was much discussion between the twins as to how a rabbit had (a) gotten into the house in the first place, and (b) managed to put eggs in places like the microwave and the butter compartment of the fridge. Belief in the Easter Bunny must not last very long, I'm thinking.
Then we went to visit an older couple we've known slightly for years (they're in a group we're in), who had invited us to come by on Easter. It took us almost an hour to find the house, WAY out in the boonies, but it was worth the effort -- a modest home, but a really fun desert garden, a potter's studio, an old swingset, interesting objects and art everywhere. On one wall we noticed a great bumper sticker: Friends don't let friends vote Republican. As they were showing us around I had a revelation: these people could have been our friends! They'd been friendly from the beginning, but an actual invitation had never been issued, just vague urgings along the lines of "you must come and see us sometime." Which we'd never followed up on, because the twins were so difficult, and we were sure no one REALLY wanted to have us come over (and destroy their home). Damn, I thought, as we walked around with them. These people really like us. These people could have been surrogate grandparents to the twins. These people could have been our friends.
So that was a bit overwhelming. And they were so disappointed when we reminded them we were leaving in a month. Damn.
Then we drove to Olancha and had a late lunch at the Ranch House Cafe. Baby A wouldn't even order anything, much less eat. Too many jelly beans. Oh dear, I knew I shouldn't have bought that second bag. Baby B did better, drank a glass of milk and ate one-fourth of a hot dog. Oh, and some of my salad. Oh, and Baby A did eat some olives from my salad. And some meringue from my pie. But that was all.
It was supposed to be cloudy and windy today -- it was windy, but the clouds in the sky were the white, puffy kind. Just gorgeous. The Eastern Sierra in general was spectacular today. The way it will always be in my dreams.
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