When I look out the window, I see sun and a vibrant, take your breath away blue sky. I see nothing moving, not even the smallest branches. It all looks perfect as long as I stay inside. It is cold again, 38°. It will get warmer, possibly up to 41°, but tonight will be in the 20’s. Every day has this same pattern. Old Man Winter just won’t let go.

My days this time of year are mostly routine. Winter does that. When it is cold, I prefer to stay home. I have plenty of books. I have movies to watch and popcorn to eat. I stay in my cozies all day. Sometimes I take a nap. Only my ukulele lesson and practice get me out of the house. They are givens. Now and then I also have an errand or two. These quiet days my version of hibernation.

We never counted the days until Easter. We didn’t light any candles like we did for Advent. My mother took us Easter clothes shopping. We also got new shoes. My sisters liked shiny patent leather. They liked frilly dresses and hats. I was never one for fancy. I remember one Easter when I chose a skirt, a blouse and a jacket. We went to my grandparents’ house after Easter dinner as did aunts and uncles and cousins. My mother, grandmother and the aunts were always in the kitchen sitting around the table. I was heading into kitchen when I heard my name mentioned. I stopped to listen. One of my aunts wanted to know why I was so plainly dressed for Easter. My mother told her it was my choice. That ended the conversation.

When I was a kid, every Easter was warm. That’s what I remember. The trees had buds and some early curled light green leaves. The winter brown grass was giving way to green grass. We stood on the steps for pictures to show off our new outfits. The steps were in the sun giving an allusion of warmth, of spring. It didn’t matter how cold it was. We always smiled.

This entry was posted on March 29, 2026 at 1:29 pm and is filed under Musings. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site.