So How Are We Doing Easter During a Pandemic?

But are we even doing Easter this year? We’ve gone back and forth on this actually, a few times this year. I mean honestly no judgement at all if you are taking it easy and simply getting through. But this week, I did a fair bit of reading and a whole lot of thinking. What would Easter look like in the middle of a pandemic? Would we be doing Easter?

Our original plan was to drive to my brother’s home in Toronto. But that was back in February before we’d even heard the term Covid-19. Before spring vacations were cancelled and people started dying of a virus that was travelling through people, killing thousands shutting down an entire industry, grounding airplanes and making grocery shopping nerve wracking and potentially dangerous.

Part of me was leaning towards why bother? And yet, I read someone smart this week, a parenting expert who noted how important it is to maintain some traditions for stability right now for your family and your kids. That made a lot of sense to me. WE all need to feel some stability and joy right now.

But we definitely couldn’t see my brother in person. Churches are doing virtual services and we are practicing social distancing and physical distancing. So, basically I was kind of still mulling over the options this morning when my younger daughter forced me out of the mulling zone and into the realm of this needs to be decided right now. Such is the questioning style of teenagers living through a pandemic struggling with every single thing being upended, trying to make the best of it.

So, I tried to give it some serious immediate thought.

“So What Should WE Make of Easter?”

My 16 year old daughter this morning while doing online school, which is a new thing this week, and one she’s doing surprisingly well with said: “Are we doing Easter?”

I paused for a second to determine what she was really asking. You know that saying about assumptions, well I made one and it clearly was wrong.

And I said: “What do you mean? Do you mean are we driving to your Uncle’s for a big family meal? No, because that’s not safe right now.”

“NO!” She barked. Increasingly agitated with me, resorting to this old teenage standby – Repetition of exactly the same question.

Are we doing EASTER?

“What do you mean? Do you mean – Are we making a big meal here? Well, we will see if we can get a ham or small turkey or something and cook it.”

“NO! ARE WE DOING EASTER?”

Totally agitated with me like she thinks I can read minds for Pete’s sake. Third time is the charm.

Finally I said to her, – “Are you asking if there will be chocolate and an Easter egg hunt?”

“YES. I assure you that there will be an Easter egg hunt.”

“BUT WHEN,” she hollered. “AND HOW? YOU HAVE NO CHOCOLATE EGGS!”

By that point she was practically screaming at me.

Preparation Matters

“I actually do, because I bought them three weeks ago and hid them from teenagers,” I said.

My daughter sighed in relief and went back to doing school work.

HONESTLY, Teens are so funny sometimes. Parenting teens is nutty and maybe even crazier than ever. But, this is all new territory for everyone on earth right now.

It All Comes Down to Chocolate and Tradition

Today, all she wanted to know was if she gets an Easter egg hunt and chocolate this year. Kind of sweet and yet also could have been a gigantic argument based on how pissed off she was getting with my inability to parse Easter right down to MINI EGGS hidden around the house.

So, this year yet again I will hide some chocolate eggs around the house. In fact, I will probably hide more this year than ever before because this is also a tradition that makes me happy.

It’s a thing that my Mom maintained for us pretty much right up until she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease. So, this year, we will join my brother and his family virtually via Face Time or Zoom as we each have dinner at our respective homes.

Easter Dinner During a Pandemic

I am planning to make a small turkey breast and some stuffing because my younger daughter has also been asking for that. We’ve got everything prepared, planned and ready and while Easter will definitely be different this year it will be memorable and we will be together and healthy and that’s more than enough for me.

Hopefully, the teenagers have a Happy Easter too!

What are you doing this Easter?