Ghost of Easter’s Past

As a kid, I loved the excitement and anticipation of Easter. This mystical big-eared creature forced me to hunt through every part of the house to find my basket filled with stuffed toys, candy and eggs.

Sometimes I would find it in my room, other times the bathroom, and once in the stove.

To me, the Easter bunny was like a joyous ghost.

He hopped around, skipped through life and brought happiness to the world. He rewarded us for sacrificing candy, television and games for 40 days, only to watch us then indulge in these activities like vultures on Easter day.

As a parent, I’ve continued many of the traditions I loved so much as a child. Just like my Easter bunny sent me on a scavenger hunt for my basket, my kids’ Easter bunny does the same. He leaves clues in plastic eggs that lead them from one room to the next, trying to uncover the meaning of poorly-constructed rhymes.

My favorite this year? “I may be a bunny, but I like to keep my teeth clean for the bunny hunnies.”

These little messages and gifts from the mystical ghost definitely excite my children, but as a parent, I think that I enjoy it much more. I love to see them run through the house, tear into the eggs and giggle at the clues. Although most of the secular holiday activities are geared toward children, there is much more excitement on the parent side.

Unless … you have a child like me. My poor mom watched in amusement as my sisters and I scoured through the house to find our chocolate treasures. She also had to clean up my barf each year after I ate the entire contents of my basket in one sitting.

It was the ghost’s fault haunting my appetite – not mine. That’s the story I’m sticking with.

– Shannon Philpott
Blog Entry: April 4, 2010

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