My Top 10 Easter Memories

As we head into the Easter holiday weekend, the memories of Easters past started flashing before my eyes. Maybe it was the delirium induced by a sugar rush of Easter treats that have been in such great abundance in recent days, but when I stopped to think about it, there were just as many great Easter memories as there were great Christmas memories.

The best part is that my Easter memories often stem from their simplicity and their timing. With the floating holiday, Easter sometimes feels like winter while other years it feels like summer. Easter is often associated with the beginning of spring and the approaching end of the school term. It also heralds a period of coming out of our winter cocoons and opting to spend more time outdoors. And of course, there are the Easter treats… some years, too many of them, undermining the New Year’s resolutions, if they were still in effect.

Here they are, my Top 10 Easter memories:

10. My first road trip to Montréal
While I can’t say for sure the exact year, maybe it was 1990, it was right after I had moved out into my own apartment. It was the first time I had rented a car for the weekend with the purpose of a same day trip to Montreal to take in some sights, food and shopping. It was a great taste of independence and doing exciting grown-up things. I vividly recall a beautiful sunny day, the road conditions were perfect, even though there was still some snow on the ground, but I had a lovely day enjoying the charm and warm hospitality of Montréal, the first of many trips to come.

9. While it usually meant a long weekend of studying for exams, it also meant that the university term was almost over.
It was always difficult to stay in and study for exams when the urge to break out and enjoy the spring-like weather was tugging at me. Just the same, I knew that school was almost out. Bringing the books outside to study seemed like a fair compromise.

8. 6:00 a.m. Easter egg hunts
As an only child, waking up early and keeping myself quietly entertained (often, just watching cartoons) until my parents woke up was a weekly weekend ritual. Easter Sunday was really special as I recall waking up, finding the basket and hunting around for Easter eggs that my Mom would have hidden the night before after I went to bed. I recall my huge excitement every time I found one and then shushing myself to keep it down and not wake up Mom and Dad.

7. The surprising discipline I could exercise in not eating all of my chocolate Easter eggs by 8:00 a.m.
Even today, I tend not to devour treats all in one sitting… I like to pace myself and make them last.

6. Mom’s leftover chocolates
When I was very young, my mother was a school teacher. For Easter she would buy enough little chocolate bunnies for her class, with a couple of extras in case some broke in transit. Guess who got the extras?

5. After visiting with the extended family, going home with a carload of Easter chocolate
Since I was the only grandson in this branch of the family tree for 15 years, my grandparents, aunts and uncles were too generous in offering me as many Easter treats as they did over the years.

4. As a result of #8, #7, #6 and #5, having enough Easter chocolate to last me until Canada Day.
… especially with those solid chocolate bunnies… those took ages to break up and finish.

3. Brunches and dinners with the extended family
As I got older, obviously the spotlight moved away from the tower of chocolates to the experience of getting together with the family for a relaxed holiday dinner together, memories that we are still making today.

2. The wide leg pants
Back to childhood, I remember being ready to go to grandma’s house for Easter dinner a little early. I was not able to resist the arrival of spring so I decided to take out my bike for a quick spin. At the time, the fashion was wide leg pants and I remember getting the pant leg of my good “Sunday pants” caught in the greasy bike chain. Mom was not impressed.

1. The polyester suit
In Googling Easter dates, it had to be either 1976 or 1977, as Easter fell in mid-April, but I remember an Easter Sunday in what must have been record breaking high temperatures, walking to church in my polyester suit and sweating… and sweating… and sweating. I was soaked by the time church was over and needed another shower and full change of clothes before heading to grandma’s house.

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Have a great day,
André