Egg Hunts

Egg Hunts

April 11, 2020

I remember how excited my son Alexander was to join in his first city-wide Easter Egg Hunt.  We got his basket and grass a week in advance to make sure he would be ready.  We arrived at the city ball diamond well in advance.  I had to laugh when I saw the layout.  The outfield was covered by 100’s of eggs all lying in plain view.  The officials lined the kids up in a single line and we waited impatiently for the hunt to begin.  As the hour approached Alex turned to wave, just as the horn sounded.  The kids took off after the eggs and swooped them up like a vacuum cleaner.  By the time Alex turned around they were halfway across the field and not an egg was to be seen.

The next year Alex was again prepared.  This time he didn’t make the mistake of turning and remained intent on the process at hand.  The horn sounded and he was off like a shot.  He was scooping up eggs just like the others.  Then it happened, he tripped.  As he hit the ground his eggs scattered out of his basket.  This was a bonanza and the eggs were gone before he could rise from the ground.  It wasn’t all bad.  There were other opportunities to hunt eggs and we sought them out both years.  Still, the look of disappointment he felt remains etched in my memory.

Amid social distancing, events like city-wide Easter Egg Hunts will not happen.  Yet even here other opportunities exist.  Several area churches have created on-line virtual Egg Hunts and our congregation hosted a virtual visit from the Easter Bunny.  Our subdivision has taken another novel approach.  They asked us to put paper eggs in our windows to allow the children to drive around with their parents and take pictures of the different eggs spotted.  One good thing, you can’t drop your virtual basket.

THOUGHTS:  I’m continually amazed by our resilience to keep traditions alive.  Some of these traditions have been passed down for generations and others are relatively new.  Regardless, each tradition is celebrated with either the solemnity or joy it has always held.  The same can be said as we prepare for Easter.  This year will be different, but the memories will be held onto just the same.  If it is possible, Stay home. Stay safe.