Tonight's picture was taken in April of 2007. Mattie was 5 years old. That day, we were celebrating his birthday at the National Zoo with all of his classmates. I will never forget this day because it wasn't just raining, it was torrential rain. I thought the party was going to be a disaster. I contacted all the moms that morning and told them that the party was still on (because the zoo had a rain or shine policy on parties) and that the kids should bring umbrellas and rain coats. You should have seen our group walking around the zoo with a guide in that weather! Ironically the kids had a ball and all the animals were out frolicking in the rain. What could have been a horrible party, turned out to be a great adventure.
Quote of the day: Every morning I wake up to perform my one and only character. A Rising Phoenix in spite of it all. ~ Michele Bell
Another crazy day for me. I drove back and forth to Virginia Hospital Center twice today! I had a 9:15am blood test for my physical next week. That may not sound bad, but trust me in order to get out of the house at 8:30am to drive to the hospital, I have to first get myself ready, make breakfast, make my parent's bed, clean up after my dad in the bathroom, get my dad washed, dressed, and downstairs for breakfast, and then start a load of laundry. Truly by 8:30am, I felt like I ran a marathon and couldn't eat anything either before the test.
After the blood work, I came home and did more chores, and then got my mom into the car and drove her to the hospital for her physical therapy session. So understand that's a 35 minute drive to the hospital and 35 minute drive home. I did that twice today. Once therapy was over, I got back home, took my dad to the bathroom and then loaded them both in the car and took them out to eat. Which is another 35 minute drive each way! If you have been calculating here, that is a total of 210 minutes or 3.5 hours of driving today alone.
On another note, it has come to my attention this week that not every Christian person likes Easter bunnies and Easter eggs representing the holy holiday of Easter. Similar to the debate about the commercialism of Christmas (with Santa). As these fun and iconic symbols take away from the spiritual and religious nature of the holidays. I can certainly understand how someone may feel this way, but I also know that I grew up with Easter eggs and bunnies, and to me that did not take away in any way the religious meaning of the holiday. In fact, I do think that bunnies and eggs are the perfect symbols for rebirth or resurrection. So after hearing about this egg and bunny debate, I decided to understand more about the origins of the Easter bunny, eggs, and candy!
I turned to the History Channel and found this article. So where did the Easter bunny come from? The Bible makes no mention of a long-eared, short-tailed creature who delivers decorated eggs to well-behaved children on Easter Sunday; nevertheless, the Easter bunny has become a prominent symbol of Christianity’s most important holiday. The exact origins of this mythical mammal are unclear, but rabbits, known to be prolific procreators, are an ancient symbol of fertility and new life.
(the photo captures some of the Easter gifts I put together for the amazing restaurant servers in our life!)
According to some sources, the Easter bunny first arrived in America in the 1700s with German immigrants who settled in Pennsylvania and transported their tradition of an egg-laying hare called “Osterhase” or “Oschter Haws.” Their children made nests in which this creature could lay its colored eggs. Eventually, the custom spread across the United States and the fabled rabbit’s Easter morning deliveries expanded to include chocolate and other types of candy and gifts, while decorated baskets replaced nests. Additionally, children often left out carrots for the bunny in case he got hungry from all his hopping.
(the photo illustrates the Easter eggs my mom and I colored together)
Easter is a religious holiday, but some of its customs, such as Easter eggs, are likely linked to pagan traditions. The egg, an ancient symbol of new life, has been associated with pagan festivals celebrating spring. From a Christian perspective, Easter eggs are said to represent Jesus’ emergence from the tomb and resurrection. Decorating eggs for Easter is a tradition that dates back to at least the 13th century, according to some sources. One explanation for this custom is that eggs were formerly a forbidden food during Lent, so people would paint and decorate them to mark the end of the period of penance and fasting, then eat them on Easter as a celebration.Easter is the second best-selling candy holiday in America after Halloween. Among the most popular sweet treats associated with this day are chocolate eggs, which date back to early 19th-century Europe. Eggs have long been associated with Easter as a symbol of new life and Jesus’ resurrection. Another egg-shaped candy, the jelly bean, became associated with Easter in the 1930s (although the jelly bean’s origins reportedly date all the way back to a Biblical-era concoction called a Turkish Delight).
According to the National Confectioners Association, over 16 billion jelly beans are made in the United States each year for Easter, enough to fill a giant egg measuring 89 feet high and 60 feet wide. For the past decade, the top-selling non-chocolate Easter candy has been the marshmallow Peep, a sugary, pastel-colored confection. Bethlehem, Pennsylvania-based candy manufacturer Just Born (founded by Russian immigrant Sam Born in 1923) began selling Peeps in the 1950s. The original Peeps were handmade, marshmallow-flavored yellow chicks, but other shapes and flavors were later introduced, including chocolate mousse bunnies.
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