Perspective

I wish I had news for you.  I wish I could tell you that things have changed/progressed/advanced/altered in any way.  But I can't.  And in spite of my efforts to obtain guidance or direction, the only guidance that comes is to Keep Calm and Carry On.

Those poor Brits, they get quite a lot of mocking.  And I have doled out more than my fair share, they are just such easy targets, with their Stiff Upper Lip, and a cup of tea can fix anything, and rainy day stocisim.  But as I grow up, I've come to realize something:  Those are the people that make the world go 'round.

They don't make waves, they aren't glamorous or fashionable, and only rarely are they remembered.  But the ones who keep the hatches battened down, the lights on, the dinner on the table, the clothes clean, and everyone healthy and happy?  Those are the ones that make the world go 'round.  If we were all revolutionaries, if we were all those Badly Behaved Women who Make History...we would all stink and be hungry and live a knot of fear and anxiety in our guts because we would have no idea what's going to happen next.

I was telling a friend of mine this week that Chris and I seem to be the Eye in the Storm lately.  We seem to be surrounded by friends who are going through these really terrible things, and it's gotten me thinking.  Thinking about the eyes through which I see my life.  It's really easy to look at our life and see the imperfections, for lo, they are everywhere.  But to be able to look at our life and see only the good, the blessings, the beauty, now that takes quite a lot of skill and concentration. 

So after all, maybe it really is best to keep calm and carry on...

Easter Monday...

...I always think about the Easter Rising in Ireland.  It happened the Monday after Easter 1916, and Yeats wrote a beautiful poem about it.  But that's not what this post is about, this post is about our Easter.

It was a fun, but crazy weekend!

We started the festivities on Friday morning at my parent's house (that's Nana and Popper for the Boy and Girl).  We colored Easter eggs and made a highly decorative mess.  The Girl really wanted to participate but I didn't think it an appropriate activity for someone we lovingly refer to as DESTRUCT-OR.

Following the egg coloring, we HUNTED.

I foolishly assumed that it mostly would be the Boy that hunted, but no.  He wanted his turn at hiding them and we had to hunt for them.  It was hilarious and fun and dirty, especially since by "hiding" the eggs, what the Boy meant was burying them in the DIRT.  He cracked us up.

Saturday we gathered up at my sister's house for a Feast.  My nephew, Matthew (who just turned 16--Happy Birthday, Bro!), informed my sister that "Chicken is NOT special!"  So we had beef.  We ate and talked and laughed and teased Matthew (who antagonistically hates vegetables) that he was going to grow up and marry a vegan and he informed us (in no uncertain terms) that the eating of meat was a DEAL BREAKER for him.  I'm still laughing over it.

The kids had a wonderful time, as they always do with their Aunt Sherry because she gives them marshmallows before dinner and also because her house is a wonderland for small children (and adults).  We brought home two very tired children and put them to bed.  Chris had to work that night, so I made up the Easter baskets...

Nothing too special, a few pieces of candy, some odd little sundries from their Aunt Jenji in Savannah, and these charming Easter eggs from their Aunt Susie in Utah.  I found this adorable little lamb for my Girl (whom we lovingly refer to as Lamby-beth because the sheep is the only one of God's creatures looking for the quickest way to DIE), and so decided to add another bunny to the Boy's collection.  (For some reason he loves bunnies and rabbits of all kinds, stuffed and 2 dimensional as in the Tales of Peter Rabbit.)  For those of you who are wondering, in our house, the Easter Bunny brings chocolate, and Mama and Daddy (or the Aunties) give everything else. 

Sunday morning dawned cloudy and rainy and the Girl was decidedly unimpressed...

Once she realized there was bonafide SUGAR in that Easter basket, she perked up a bit.


The Boy, however, was thoroughly charmed.

 

Easter baskets were followed by breakfast and dressing up for Church and then Church all afternoon.  My sincere apologies for no pictures of my darling children in their Easter clothes, but I am living with a little Boy who sees the camera come out and turns on the GOOFY and my Girl is now a REAL LIVE Toddler.  She's started walking instead of crawling and getting her to stand or sit still for any length of time is an unrealistic expectation.  Her dress is pink cotton with tiny little embroidered flowers on it, and hopefully, I'll be able to get a picture of her in it some time before summer.

All in all, it was a fun weekend.  And now we're getting back to real life.  Laundry and cleaning and work and school.  We still have no idea where we're going at the end of this month, but hopefully by the 30th, we'll be loading our moving truck and I'll be able to tell you "Burnstopia is Relocating to ___________."