When I was a kid, my mom would take us to El Reno to celebrate with my grandma Davis and my cousins; and we had LOTS of cousins! We had the best food (grandma was a wonderful cook and moms learned well), grandpa Leon would fuss as all of us cousins would race between him and his sports games on tv, but we were never scared - just took him in stride - we loved being together and playing.
When I had a family of my own, I made sure we went to church regularly. My kids didn’t have cousins to entertain them, but they had lots of church friends who would goof around and play with. They grew up together, hung out and were truly friends.
Our kids have since grown up, live nearby (thank you, Jesus!) and are good through and through despite what others have done to them. I am proud of each of them and the families they have created.
However, Easter is so different from when I was young; the older cousins hid eggs for the younger cousins - and we were constantly playing, laughing, big gatherings and lots of laughter.
Time and life has strewn us apart; cousins and families live across the country and seldom see each other. Families don’t gather like they used to - kids would rather ‘game’ or be ‘friends’ with people they have never met. Family... is distance now... busy filling their lives... with... no sense of being an entire unit. No time for extended family; close or distant - just a mandatory dinner date and gone. I miss the ‘olden’ days; I miss when grandparents were cherished, and kids were entertaining and we laughed and cooked together for hours and then played.
And I miss church. I have been half a dozen times in years; but I always get sick for weeks. I don’t know how to overcome that. TV doesn’t replace church family.
I have a deep faith in a God of love and forgiveness. I know there is a God. Look at the flowers; how does a daisy know it is a daisy and a tulip know it is a tulip? How does a maple tree know it is maple and a magnolia know it is a magnolia?
Who else could have come up with God’s art and nature’s perfection? Look at our bodies; noses to breathe, eyes to see, hands to help and feet to explore His world!
Today is even tough. Thirty some days quarantined with no end in sight. Before Covid-tine I could fill my empty holes with OHCE and a friend. Today, I spend hours and hours making masks and sinking deeper into depression and reality.
I miss my family, our little get-togethers and our waves as we pass each other on the road. Even that brightened my days. I miss the old life and I miss the pre-Covid life, and I fear the future.
This is me, somewhere in Colorado with my parents - and the pink Cadillac. Dads. 😂
Happy Easter.
No comments:
Post a Comment