Easter Egg hunt

I can't really blame Eli for not wanting to be in this picture. The Easter bunny was a little creepy.

 When Marcus was little, I was ambitious (naive?) and we took him to Easter Egg hunts. Then I learned that Easter Egg hunts can be crazy crazy places where parents go a little nutty over eggs filled with candy. This year, I hadn't planned to take them to any egg hunts, but on Saturday morning when I woke up and looked out the window and saw what a glorious day it was and that we didn't have anything planned, my old reservations melted away and I jumped on the internet and found a Easter Egg hunt in Meridian put on by the Optimist Club that promised to be fun and nutty parent free!

We got there and saw a field of candy spread before us and families and children gathering around the perimeter. An announcer called out over the loudspeaker that the areas had been sectioned off by age groups and that parents were NOT allowed on the field with their children. (there was a totally separate area for toddlers and parents could go there). I explained to Owen and Eli how it would work a number of times because I knew that once they got out there with a bunch of kids they might feel a little overwhelmed. They were excited and ready. But then when the announcer started to count down 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 Eli grabbed my legs. And when the announcer shouted "Go!" do you know what happened? Parents ran onto the field! Age groups dividers were ignored! And I remembered why I don't like Easter Egg hunts very much.

I watched as Owen and Eli walked together with Owen's arm around Eli's back, looking for candy to put in their baskets. No, I did NOT go on the field. I refuse to join the ranks of the nutty parents. I hoped that they would find some candy, but I worried. "It's okay, Marcus will share with them." Tim said, but still they looked so tiny out there. After the candy was gone, Tim headed out to find them. "We were together," was the first thing they said to him when he saw them. He looked in their baskets and saw piles of candy. He was surprised and they told him that a boy had given it to them. He'd reached into his basket and pulled out huge handfuls of candy for these two little boys that had none.

So while I am still annoyed with the parents who couldn't follow the rules and let the kids have fun, I am also impressed with the kind spirit of a little boy who shared with others who had none.

 

Happy Easter!