Easter 2020: Celebrating In Quarantine

Happy Easter from my family to yours! Most of us have celebrated much differently this year, but it is our responsibility – for our families, our children's memories, and our communities – to make them as meaningful as possible. For good or bad, the coronavirus is preventing us from living our lives on autopilot. By disrupting our normal rhythms, it is forcing us all to take a closer look at our lives. Some things that seemed important in our chaotic daily lives may no longer seem as critical. And now we may see more clearly the people and experiences that deeply matter. With the holiday here, I think back to what my grandparents went through in the Great Depression. It taught them the difference between wants and needs. To never lose sight of what matters most. This year we didn’t have 20+ people in our house, a large dinner with lots of sides, an Easter egg hunt for the little ones, or special Easter basket gifts.

Instead, as we celebrated just the 5 of us, sans the Peeps (my grandma that passed in July always bought these for us) and PAS dyed eggs (sold out in our town), I tried to establish new rituals that signify an even deeper connection. The delicious food that we all menu planned and prepared together, the shared laughter as we joined together in the kitchen, the Pinterest triumphs and fails of our food, and the camaraderie of cleaning up our relatively small stack of dishes...I hope you took a moment to look around your table today. I encouraged each of my family members to tell a story about a friend or relative who couldn’t attend. Captured those stories on my phone and sent them to loved ones or surprised them with a FaceTime call. These slower times allow for a more reflective atmosphere for me this holiday. A chance to reflect on the meaning of Easter and the hope that it brings. Jesus rose up from the ashes/death, and we can rise again as a family/city/nation/world too.

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