Happy Easter!

I remember a few of these Easters as a child. The tulips, sadly, are absent, green grass is pretty hard to come by, and the kids would be better served receiving snow shovels in their Easter baskets rather than sand castle shovels and buckets. Come Sunday morning, plastic Easter eggs might just be hidden in lingering piles of melting snow and the kids will probably be slipping on rubber boots to tiptoe through mud and standing water.

But even this wintery weather can't cast a shadow on the hope and promise Easter brings! I keep telling myself that flowers and butterflies are on their way, and that I just need to have a bit of patience.

Phone calls from my mother reveal she's all set to go with the no-holds-barred ham dinner for Sunday, complete with everyone's favorite side dishes and salads (a MN mom's way of expressing her love, you know). The kids are anticipating dying Easter eggs on Saturday and introducing their Uncle Matt's girlfriend, a sweet-natured young lady from India, to this tradition steeping in color experimentation and stained clothing. "She's really never dyed Easter eggs before, Mom?" Jack asks. "Can you believe that?" This should be fun and interesting. (I wonder if she knows that she'll be expected to eat egg salad sandwiches for the next week...)

For me, Easter always heralds the return of life and color to the outside world. As a child, it was almost palpable, sitting in my grandparents' church for sunrise service on Easter Sunday morning, the sunshine streaming through the brightly colored stained glass windows, bathing the light stonework in bold hues. The jubilant trumpets joining the choir's triumphant strains made it rather difficult to focus on chilly weather and muddy lawns. Even if we had to return home to don windbreakers and black buckle rubber boots, it was impossible not to feel uplifted and hopeful as we scampered to the barn to play with spring's arrival of new life - baby pigs, calves, kittens and chicks.

Whether you've planned a big day of family celebrations, or are spending some quiet time on a Sunday afternoon, warm wishes for a relaxing and blessed Easter!