Sunshine On A Cloudy Day

("My Girl," The Temptations and others.)

It was a beautiful sunny morning, perfect for an Easter Day.  By the time the Kids started arriving I was done in the barn, finished the prep for dinner, gotten spiffed up, set the table, and run the vacuum cleaner.  Whew.  (I didn't want to send the Kids into shock, so dusting didn't make the cut.)

Deb and Craig had made a lovely Easter basket full of goodies, including plastic eggs filled with jellybeans.  There are licorice lovers and then there are those others.  Craig does not love licorice and had difficulty understanding why the rest of us were willing to do battle to protect the two black jellybeans in our eggs.  (I hid mine in a cupboard.)  Deb and Craig had also brought some naked lady (amaryllis) bulbs from their garden and were kind enough to plant them for me.  Since I was busy in the kitchen, finding where will be a treasure hunt.  Naked ladies do very well up here and come back year after year.

Our holiday dinners are steeped in tradition, the menus never changing.  It was brought home to me how long it's been since Pete had been with us for Easter when he tried to figure out what was in the bowl of Jell-O thoroughly folded into a cloud of whipped cream.  The flavor may change from year to year, but the dish remains the same and served only at Easter.  Dave is our official carver, be it turkey, ham, or whatever.  I have a carving knife that would make a samurai proud.  Dave is the only one who uses it, and was responsible for getting the ham to the table.  Larry and Clay were definitely missed.  Larry sent an aloha from Hawaii and Clay also sent greetings.

It started raining while we were eating and by the time we had finished, it was pouring rain and the wind whipped up a storm.  I didn't want to see the Kids drive home after dark in that weather, so we parceled out leftovers and they took off.

The only low spot on an otherwise grand day was Esther.  She'd become seriously ill the day before to the point that she was too weak to make it back to the barn that night.  Esther is fifteen, at the far end of a goat's life span.  I kept looking throughout the day, but she remained on her feet.  I didn't hold out much hope when it started raining and was greatly surprised to find her inside when I went down to put the kids to bed.  Maybe she'll hold on a little longer.

Regardless of the weather, my Kids are the sunshine of my life.