Hippity hop

Reading: The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga

Listening to: "Living Dead Girl" by Rob Zombie

Outside: Drip, drip, drop little April showers

Well, the taxes are done, the daffodils have sprouted, and I'm seeing lots of spam emails with subject lines saying EGGSTRA SPECIAL SAVINGS. So that must mean one thing. The Easter Bunny is on its way.

In fact, it's Easter weekend now, and I'm enjoying a day off from office work thanks to the UK's amazing bank holidays. Good Friday, indeed.

Now. Winter's over and here we have a breath of fresh, grass-scented air. And that's nice enough on its own.

But now that we have a kid, a kid who, at seventeen months old, can now run around (or at least toddle somewhat gracefully), which is way more than what she did this time last year which was pretty much do this *I'm waving my arms around while sitting stationary,* it's nice to know that this year we might actually have an Easter Egg Hunt.

Oh yes. 

And that on its own is really, you know, cute.

But when you get out of your chair, off of your High Horse Pedestal that is Adultness, and get right down on your haunches, you can see what wonder really is. And that is this:

The voice of your mom or dad (or sister or brother, etc.) telling you there are things hidden that you must find.

The things you must find are oval, plastic, and in bright or creamy pastels, and when you find them (ah!) you can open them - and see what's inside! There could be anything. For me, it was a quarter or a nickel or a dime. If you were lucky, it was a whole dollar**. Oh, my word! To search the front yard, under this tree and that, to find these little beauties filled with treasure, it was a dream come true. 

And all the time, my parents encouraged us to keep going, to find every last one.

I mean, is there a better encouragement for kids than that? I don't think so.


**In place of coinage - they pose too much of a choking hazard for our little one - we have some delectable American chocolates sent from Indiana itself. While Mommy may eat all the Hershey Kisses (can I use "choking hazard" as an excuse?), Jellybean will enjoy her first taste of fun size Reese's Peanut Butter Cups in their pretty springtime wrappers.

Our back garden (or living room if it's raining) will become a vast field of opportunity; each shrub and flower (or chair and table leg) will become a chance to find something great. Maybe she'll remember the song of black birds and finches as they hurry her along, and maybe she'll feel as giddy as I did in the open sprawl of my childhood yard, Crayola green grass tickling my ankles, urging me to go find what's out there.

Happy Friday, everybody, and Happy Easter Weekend!