June 22, 2008

First Egg Hunt

This year Anja really understands holidays and birthdays.  She loves making special cards and celebrating.  We couldn't wait to shower her with goodies for Easter.

We took her to an egg hunt at The Park Chalet, where Daddy works. About 60 other children turned out. The bigger kids totally dominate the egg hunt, of course. It's survival of the fastest.  Wobbling toddlers and their starry eyed parents wander the grounds, cameras blazing; they're lucky to get even a few eggs.  I've seen experienced kids pull a home plate slide to steal an egg from right underneath a younger one.  It's a frenzy. It gets better after loads of multicolored robins eggs, jelly beans, chocolate bunnies, peeps and Cadbury eggs... washed down with juice. Then the jumping around begins, the rough play, nap-missing and crying. It's a candy holiday. This is the way it is...

Anja's eyes sparkled when the larger- than-life Easter Bunny came across the lawn toward her. It waved and gestured for her to take an egg from it's basket. She reached in without taking her gaze off of it's frozen cartoonish grin. It patted her on the head and turned to another little boy.  She stood very close by and followed Bunny on it's rounds to greet all the children. 

After the egg hunt, the kids congregated in a low lying grove of trees just off the lawn. Monkeys in their Easter clothes. I was proud that Anja was a good tree climber. Nothing made me happier when I was a kid. The knees of her white pants were green brown. I smiled up at her, carefully making her way from branch to branch.

Later when she dug into her basket with grimy hands, I pretended not to notice. It was a very good day.


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