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Easter Sunday in the 70’s –growing up on the farm.

Happy Easter!!

People seem to think on the first day of spring, or at least by Easter Sunday, that winter should be finished. That isn’t how I remember things growing up on the family farm in the 1970’s. Oh yes, there was an Easter or two, where we could wear our new spring dresses and patent leather shoes. But many times, Easter fell at a time when our world was filled with snow and cold. And then the most asked and answered question would be, “How will the Easter bunny get through all the snow?” He always made it—that’s for sure!

Prior to that day, I would have watched any and all of the religious programming on television put on by our father for our viewing pleasure–Billy Graham, Robert Schuller, and Oral Roberts. Oh, our dad loved his Evangelical preachers. My most enjoyable part of any of what showed up on television at this time of year was Jesus of Nazareth, which I still watch to this day, some 50 years later. Before the big day, mom would shop for all our favorites, including beef short ribs or sometimes ham, which were meats that she really knew how to make. Of course, her Easter table always had scalloped potatoes, sometimes scalloped corn, carrots, peas, and store bought buns warmed up. What we had for dessert escapes me now. Often times, especially when I was younger, our grandparents would be our dinner guests. Supper would be leftovers from our Easter meal, and Dad would be able to take an extra long nap in his chair.

And yes, we got Easter baskets that usually held a hollow chocolate bunny plus a big cream egg (fruit and nut or cherry) in a box, and mom would hide jelly beans all over the dining room and living room. It never took me long to find most of them–same places year after year (window sills, desk, and table) lol. Mom seemed to really enjoy making holidays like Easter and Christmas special for us.

My earliest memory of Easter was when I was 8 years old and had written a letter to the Easter bunny. Low and behold, when I woke up, he had answered my letter with muddy🐾 prints and a basket of goodies. Easter time growing up is a wonderful memory for me and one I reflect back on each and every year as the holiday arrives. Though we didn’t have baby chicks or bunnies on our farm, springtime was a time of renewal on this special place. The land after a cold, wet winter was renewed and ready for new crops. The cows began calving and our barn cats began having kittens. The first flowers I would see and smell were my grandmother’s tulips—she loved the red and yellow ones. All of the spring rains, longer days, warmer days and nights, and the return of the robins and whippoorwill are all things that I think about when I remember all of my Easters on the farm. 🐄 🐰🐤 🐱