Easter Sunday

Happy Easter and happy spring to everyone, although today didn't feel very much like spring. The weekend has been overcast and chilly, with bursts of snow squalls from time to time. I had an enjoyable weekend, spending time with my friends, which have become my extended family. I must admit Easter has always been a bit of an anti-climactic holiday for me. Somehow it doesn't have the same pizazz as Christmas does, but each holiday is equally important and neither could exist without the other. Still, as I get older, the holiday takes on less meaning than it used to as a child.

Growing up, Easter had fond memories starting with Good Friday. Each Good Friday, one of the local churches in my community would host Lenten services and a minister representing the congregation for one of the seven African American churches would interpret the meaning on one of Christ's seven last words on the cross. This would be particularly exciting if my home church was the host church any given year. My home church always sponsored a fish/chicken fry every Good Friday. It was a welcomed tradition in my church.

During services, if Good Friday Service was held at New Hope Baptist, your mouth would water as you sat back and enjoyed moving dramatization of Christ's last worlds. My home pastor could move the audience and draw the feeling you were actually at the foot of the cross, experiencing the agony of Mary and the Disciples as Christ was crucified. As one minister finished his interpretation, the next would attempt to out do the previous commentator, using whatever charisma he could muster to get the sisters of the church to shout "Amen, Hallelujah, Thank You Jesus, Yes Lord!" To this day, the whole passion of Good Friday leaves me homesick for days gone by.

Lady Miss T is convinced I just remember the after service supper!

Easter itself was toned down. Church was always packed and as I got older I learned to get up and go to the sunrise services instead of the regular 11:00 AM engagement. Like most people in my community, Easter and Christmas were times people dressed their finest and dragged themselves out of bed to be seen. Being a person who abhors large crowds, this annoyed me and I did everything I could to distance myself from the whole ritual. Plus, Easter was never about family like Christmas. I always looked forward to seeing my family at the Holidays, but Easter seemed reserved only each individual family unit. Easter's charms never held much in my favor.

Perhaps, I'm viewing in the wrong perspective. The holiday is about the salvation of man, but when you feel your soul is not redeemable, the holiday takes different meaning, no?

Today, I got up and called Naps' family, wishing them a happy day, then called my own loved ones. After dressing, I made the hour drive to Lady Miss T's and we enjoy a savory brunch with Leeser and her mother, "Miss" Betty. I ate way beyond what I should have, shoveling tons of starchy mashed potatoes, potato filling, and glazed carrots in my gullet. Lady Miss T and I didn't exchange gift baskets this year, which was a little sad, but money is tight this year for me.

The weekend is complete and the process to rejoin the weekly drudgery routine is upon us all. T is lucky to be off tomorrow!