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All across the country this weekend, adorable toddlers dressed (usually by their mothers) in pastel shades of purples, blues and pinks are running around grassy areas holding Easter baskets, gleefully finding plastic eggs filled with jellybeans and brightly colored, foil wrapped chocolates.

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I remember those days with my own kids, like it was yesterday. I loved getting pictures of all of the kids dressed in their finery before the Easter egg hunt. I knew chocolate would end up getting smeared on faces and clothes before too long so my “pictures first” rule was ironclad. I am rewarded now by the enjoyment I get from looking at those pictures of days gone by. Those days, so far in the past, now feel like simpler times (at least in my retrospective mind) and I am nostalgic for them.

Thank goodness for grandkids. We get to relive those days. When my oldest granddaughter came over this past Tuesday, we hid plastic eggs in the living room and family room just like we did years ago for our kids. It was fun to watch her look for them; at nine years old she is clever at finding them, so we have to be equally clever in hiding them. One of my adult kids helped hide them and found some ingenious hiding places. My favorite was “hiding in plain sight” where a candle in a candlestick holder on the mantel was replaced by a chocolate….even though it was found quickly I still thought it was hilarious.

The challenge is always to remember where all the eggs are so that we don’t accidentally find stale jelly beans six months from now. My granddaughter got totally stumped by a couple of the hiding places. When she is stumped, we play “hot and cold” until we guide her to the hiding place. A lot of fun. I admit I did eat a few leftover jellybeans while watching her look though I try to stay away from sugar. Watermelon flavored jellybeans…who would have thought? The flavors have come a long way over the years.

I have been getting text pictures today of some of my other “out of state” grandchildren out on a Saturday Easter egg hunt. One was dressed in a gauzy pink and white (of course!) dress, the other in a little pink dress (more pink) overlay with white lace in a flowered pattern. Pastels are still “in” I see.

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The other significance of Easter of course is that we are also celebrating Easter Sunday. Good Friday was a day of grief, of loss and remembrance. Easter Sunday is a day of resurrection, of joy, of new beginnings. I won’t be at church tomorrow as I am recovering from a virus, but I will be there in spirit.

Joy following sorrow is a good reminder for us as we move forward through the remainder of the year. Whether it is a minor setback like our plumbing leak that is currently causing a torn-up bathroom and kitchen or something more serious, steadfast faith in a better tomorrow is needed to get through the challenges of life. As Annie sang in the musical, “The sun will come up tomorrow, bet your bottom dollar…”.

Challenges on earth are temporary; eternity is forever. Happy Easter to everyone.