Sometimes I try to imagine where you all are and what you are doing. For example, I wonder what Divvi sees when she looks out her kitchen window. Never having been in Texas, I wonder if she sees hills or plains or water? Today I'm wondering what you all are doing, or seeing, or hearing, this Easter Sunday. Is Mary (Red) cleaning up after her out-of-state visitors? Or just sitting in a comfortable chair, remembering the pleasure of their company. Is Kitty telling her cats about the Easter Bunny? Ol don could be writing about his remarkable boyhood friends.
I'm going to church. I see a soft April rain and a slight movement of wind in the fir trees across the lane in my neighour's yard.

Mary75, I can see beautiful green grass and my dogwood tree that is covered in beautiful blooms, spring has sprung in Missouri. I am getting ready to go and meet the family at a restaurant for a fabulous Easter brunch and then coming back to my home for an Easter egg hunt for all four of my grandsons.

I'm in WA state and sitting in front of my pc before my husband gets up. I can look out the window and it is overcast and raining. It is very green and the trees are starting to bloom.

Easter is always a great day in our life. Rained last night but very nice now. Carol has been bathed, fed and ready to go to our sons house for Easter Lunch with our two kids and six grandkids. Yes, God is definitely good!!!! Bill

CommentAuthorehamilton CommentTime1 hour ago edit delete
A Happy Easter morning to each and every one of you. Here in Southwestern PA the sun is shining, the children and grandchildren are coming and maybe for a few short hours life will be good.

I am sitting in my living room with one of my daughters and two granddaughters, just finished Easter Lunch, sun is shinning but cold out, going to see dh in nh at 1:30 HOPE HE IS HAVING A GOOD DAY.

A very emotional day for me. Finally got my medications issues taken care of, which leaves me with just raw emotion over the changes in the last year and the fear of the year to come. It is sunny here in Maine, but too breezy. Blustery, as Jim would say. Not feeling up to church today, for the first time in many years. Mom went alone, allowed Dylan to hang with my youngest son, his favorite funtime uncle. We had 5 wild turkeys in our back yard this morning. Jim and Jeff went for a ride in Jeff's bright yellow GTO, and he revved it up for him. They went and got my medication and I feel much better. Jeff came back and would not tell me what they had talked about. He just told me to rest assured that Jim loves me very much. Of course in fine Susan Style, I cried. Thank God for small blessings. Love to you all on this beautiful, albiet, cold Easter Day.

My husband's eating pizelle brought by our dear Ukrainian family-friends, and I'm smelling the easter lillies here. Since my nearest son's wife is Jewish, they're all out of town at her family Passover, and since the Ukrainian family's daughter has her in-laws here for the first time, we're spending Easter alone but that's fine. My daughter's home and we've been getting a LOT done in my husband's ex"office" without him knowing it. He's happily watching golf while I bundle up incredible quantities of empty cardboard boxes and plastic baggies for tomorrow's recycling. I think he must have saved every plastic newspaper bag for 2-3 years!

The weather's beautiful, a little chilly, but the daffies are out, the forsythia almost so (one of the glories of the northeast in spring, forsythia; like azaleas in Georgia or TX). I'm feeling very peaceful!

Marsh, your sister has a seven month old service dog? Goodness, that's young! Or is she training him herself?

For those who haven't been hearing the news, not only do the Obamas finally have their dog, but THE CAPTAIN WAS RESCUED off Somalia!!! LISTEN tonight!

Our best friends left at noon today after a very nice weekend visit. My husband held up until they left. He didn't even try to communicate with them in between hugging them hello and hugging them goodbye. They are great friends, and said that they will be back soon. They are great support for me. It's been stormy off and on since 9 this morning, with severe thunderstorm watches and warnings. After getting my husband cleaned up (he had a big accident as soon as they left) and bathed him and got him settled in his recliner, I began doing the laundry. Since I haven't been able to get on the computer (except to check for any emergency discussion yesterday for five minutes) this afternoon is being spent reading here and doing loads of clothes. Because my husband is having a bad day today, we're going to order out and go pick it up and bring it home for dinner. The weather isn't getting any better, darn it.

Today is also my younger son's birthday and my oldest grandson's birthday. One is in Hawaii and one in Houston, so phone calls will have to do this year.

Marsh, I think the dog is very cute and looks like it would make an excellent service dog. I hope she is fortunate and it trains very easily.

It been a beautiful day here as well. In this part of Texas, we have cedar trees mixed with mesquite trees and various oaks, etc. Right now there are pink flowers, we call them buttercups..and dewberry blossoms blooming around our fences here at the farm. Our daughter came and helped DH with his garden and he was thrilled. Her visit surprised him.
I got up early, fixed their breakfasts, then went to the early church service to hear our annual Easter Contata. It was the first time I had been in the audience and not with the choir in a number of years. The music was just so pretty and it was so nice to see my choir friends as well.

I woke up early this morning and I went outside to watch the sunrise..I noticed two squirrels running side by side, and each stayed within inches of each other. Up and down the trees they went, across a phone line, and back to another tree. They ran in perfect synchronization, and I thought of my dw (got it right) and how we used to be that way. Before I could get out of my sorrows, I noticed another squirrel, all alone, and he also followed the path of the other two....I thought it sad that he was alone, and felt much as he did....In a flash, I saw how my situation changed so unexpectedly and quickly, and that I am now that lone squirrel...
The weather was perfect, skies became blue, and the sun was just so gorgeous...what a perfect day....Easter...a time of spring...but being in Florida, there are only 2 seasons....summer and tourist...and tourist season is just ending...
I am inspired to live life to the fullest, despite the ongoing calamity surrounding me. I will not be the second victim....

WE had a beautiful Easter Day with our children and Grand-children, Our Son-in-law picked us up and took us to their house for a Great dinner, and dessert out-doors, where the rest of the family joined us. Their house is on the Arlington River,DH enjoyed it there. We also celebrated his 87th Birthday. We are Blessed...
Like Frank said,even though there are some tough times.....I will not be the second victim

I walked down the street today in a neighborhood full of Mount Fuji flowering cherry trees. It was like a fairytale.

Here in North Texas, we woke to rain and cool weather. My wife and I are in the choir and we had to be at church early for rehersal. I am amazed that she is able to sing. I have to place the music in her hands as she can not keep up with the program, but she is able to go thru the music without a problem. After 3 Hallelujah choirs I am ready for a break. We are planning to go on a trip this week to DC and check out the museums.

Mary 75 hmmm very cool an windy here in Mich this morning,sunrise service at 7 then out to dinner,got home from dinner an LO asked what I wanted her to cook for dinner? The days may be nice but the outcome remains the same,she didn't even know that she had just had dinner,she has four boys an two of them went to the trouble to call an wish her a Happy Easter,she never even heard from the other two,I suppose out of sight out of mind,I guess its she an I against the world,Happy Easter everyone.

Do we have any one from Illinois? I remember Easters in Urbana - my first husband was going to graduate school, microbiology, and I was working as a nurse - that in April the birds would wake us up early in the morning with their songs and calls. At times, it was a racket. especially if I'd worked the evening shift. The warm winds from the south made everything come alive in a matter of 2 weeks. It made me better understand the stories by William Faulkner, their sensuality.

Mary,

We're in Bloomington - not far from Urbana. Things are waking up here. We have robins, gold finch, house finch, and lots of sparrows at our feeders. We also have many grackles and crows - wish we could get rid of them. We live in a fairly new neighborhood without large trees, and I am thrilled that a couple of squirrels moved in during the last year. I love to watch them try to get the bird food. We also have rabbits. Our trees are budding out, trees around town have flowers, on them, and we have daffodils and tulips in bloom. Also, we're having a lot of April showers.

I'm in Illinois in a suburb southwest of Chicago. Our weather has not been the nicest the last few days. Cold, wet and windy is how its going but we do have a lot of fat robins in the neighborhood. I also have two mourning doves in my backyard that love to coo early in the morning. The tulips are just now starting to sprout up and the magnolia trees are beginning to bud. No leaves on any trees yet. Here in Chicago there is a saying that we only have two seasons: Winter and Road Construction.

I remember making ham on the bone where I have no memory of how big they were but we would have a houseful of friends or family and kids running around or teenagers sitting in the family room watching television. The ham would go in hours ahead and someone would mash the potatoes while others helped or added milk and everyone was chattering. Someone would mention we're out of white and I would go downstairs and get some. The veggies would be on and someone would tell a story that everyone got involved in. The adults would eat in the dining room around our long table and the youngsters would eat in the kitchen which all of them preferred after the age of about ten or so. Dianne would sneak into the kitchen and slice some more ham and the stories and the wine would flow because nobody was driving home. The kids had sleeping bags and all slept in the family room with the french doors closed and the TV on long into the night. The women would be in Dianne's closet looking at something she bought and commenting. She had such beautiful clothes.

In the morning I would get up when I heard the first sound and go down into the kitchen and put coffee on. Milk and cereal for the younger crowd until breakfast was ready. And then plow through the dishes where two would always be up and dry while the coffee brewed. Then it was right into sausages and bacon that would go into the warmed stove while I fought off the boys from the bacon and before we had the table set, the house was full of chatter again where someone needed an aspirin and so on until they all piled out the front door into their cars and we waved and would shut the door and look at each other.

The friends I was thinking of told me not to talk about Alzheimer's and when I told them that wasn't right, they then closed ranks and never called or wrote again. The whole group of them did that in unison. I wished that they wouldn't have their cozy little group after dumping us like that. Two years ago one of the women died of cancer. No tear has ever been shed and I feel nothing except cold resolve that I don't want to do things like they did. I want to see things through.

Wait. I did. And today I had a western omelette with raspberry jam on toast staring at my cats who wanted more bacon. Happy Easter everyone that celebrates it.

Hope that all who celebrate Easter, and all those that celebrate spring, found blessing in the day.

After going to church and then driving to NH to have brunch with my partner’s family, we came home. Shortly thereafter my partner heard exasperation in my voice when I discovered that she was mixing the clean laundry from the dryer with both the dirty laundry from the hamper and all the garbage and trash from our waste basket. She became upset and I tried to give her space in the front of the house while I watched TV in the back. When it had been too quiet for too long I went looking. She was not in the house, not in the back yard, not on the sidewalk of our street.

Here is the blessing. I enlisted the help of neighbors, and between us we found her and gently helped her home. Gentle loving neighbors, put in our path, helping without judgment.

Brindle, I wish so much your church friends had supported you. Did you ever find support community? Somehow, apart from not getting much of any help from my dear partner’s family, I am being able to gather a support network around us. I feel blessed, and wish it for everyone.

Wolf, reading your contributions is like reading poetry, so much joy, pleasure, pain and realism all packed into one short pithy paragraph.

Thank you Lindylou. I'm a ten finger, reliable typist and it comes out fast where my only worry is that it comes out real. My whole life I've felt that I'm much better off not being afraid of the side of me most people call feminine - but which I find is really a more holistic grasp of the range of our own feelings and thoughts. I believe role is important in life; but, it is taken on freely - not dictated by convention which keeps changing anyway.

I may have a more intimate access across a broader range because I care about convention the way pigs fly. I have no time for the conventional ideas about dementia caregivers because they are wrong. Society is not ready to accept dementia the way it is doing with cancer and the way it did with leprosy and handicapped people. I'm glad you have some visible support around you but most don't. Most find they are shunned. It will change as we have seen other wrongs change but that is not yet here.

In that post I went for the first time deeply into very fond memories with the very people who hurt me by far the most. I came here because after saying happy easter on the widow thread I saw no one had mentioned it here. As I searched the word easter and Elizabeth on the widows thread had mentioned ham, it came to me that I would go there to those wonderful days where without children, I had my very large family around me. It feels like a healing experience today.

I believe expression slaves itself to thought with enough experience in a very similar way in which the fingers and the keyboard also do with experience. In those moments I am flying and there are no fingers just as there is no Wolf. Expression is flying or it is a constructed essay. Just my opinion.

There's a saying about juggling. If you're juggling and you think about something, you're not juggling anymore.

Huh?

Oh, I see. That is very true, Wolf, but at this point, I'll take what I can get.