I got up this morning, and my toddler was running around the kitchen with my husband. He hurries over to me and says, “Church is closed today Mama.” I ruffled his hair and replied, “Yup buddy, it is, but we can still celebrate.” 

Today is Easter. What a glorious day, and a beautiful reason to rejoice. It feels different though, right? No family gatherings, no church services, and no Easter egg hunt with friends. I’m really, truly enjoying it though. I had forgotten how to celebrate something without a schedule, traveling, or pressure to make it perfect. Today, however, we let it be simple.

We all got dressed in clothes other than sweats. I curled my hair and did my makeup for the first time in almost 4 weeks. We ate breakfast together, and R found a note the Easter bunny had left saying he (or she) had to hide the eggs downstairs because it was snowing outside. Thankfully my 2 year old can’t read or put 2 & 2 together because that note was DEFINITELY in my handwriting. We hurried downstairs to find Easter baskets and hunt eggs. There were squabbles over toys and pleads to eat more sweets of course, but we embraced our non-traditional Easter. 

We had a video chat with each of our families, and it was nice because honestly, I don’t think we saw or even talked to everyone in our immediate families on this holiday last year. We’re making an effort to connect now because it feels way more important. I hope that doesn’t change once we can participate in outside life again. I texted friends today that I have thought about a lot during this time. Friends who I am currently close with and friends I wish I was closer with but I’ve let time and distance get in the way. 

A couple weeks ago I wrote a relatively negative blog post about how this pandemic has affected my family’s life, and although at that time I was for sure having those feelings, I wish I had waited before I hit ‘publish’. The two weeks since then have given me a totally new perspective on using this time to figure out what’s important and what’s not. Things and people that fill my cup are being prioritized, and things that weren’t have started to fade into the background. 

Today, a holiday that is normally spent celebrating with families or our church community is spent at home. “Together” has taken on a new meaning. The group of people we are “together” with is smaller, and how we get “together” is virtual instead of physical. 

At the end of this, I hope that I have found a way to bring a little bit of this simplicity and prioritization of the important things to my life forever.  So, on a day where we are celebrating eternal life, I wish you and your families health in this uncertain time, and I pray for those who are working tirelessly to give those fighting this virus a chance at life. 

Happy Easter everyone 🌷