


It would be competing for top billing and most likely would fall just behind Christmas and birthdays because it truly is a day (really is more of an entire weekend) of fun.


When I was growing up, I surely remember receiving my share of memorable Easter baskets, but, like most things, they have gotten bigger and better over time, and Beckett and Carson have no idea how lucky they are.

I remember a few weeks ago waiting in the car with my kids while Pam ran into a local store to score some Easter baskets and some special goodies to place in it. When I saw her walking out with her hands full of half of a dozen shopping bags, I was shocked. However, as we loaded the gear into the car, I began remembering just how serious she takes this Easter basket stuff.

Easter Sunday morning is nothing like Christmas morning at our house, but I must admit it’s in the same ballpark.

As I watched my wife carrying those bags across the parking lot, visions of suddenly having to temporarily relocate the hanging light over our kitchen table danced through my head from last year’s incredibly large Easter baskets.

I began wondering to myself perhaps we are overdoing it a bit, but I challenge any husband out there to brave that conversation with the mother of their children. It’s not one I’m going to wade into any time soon. Plus, how can anyone be truly upset with a mom wanting to make her kids’ lives as special as possible.

Additionally, I really have little to do with it. She doesn’t ask for my help with the baskets because she knows I would be no good at it and would surely be more of a hindrance, so it’s something I enjoy watching develop and the finished products are usually stunning.

Consequently, on Easter morning, there I was holding down the fort with camera in tow as the kids came downstairs. After a few oohs and aahs, Beckett immediately realized there was candy inside some of the eggs in the basket. That was it for him, as he lost all sense of reality from that point on, shoveling candies in his mouth at a record clip before we had to place the basket above his maximum reach.

That set the tone for what was surely Beckett’s personal record for chocolate consumption in a day. We learned throughout Easter that chocolate appears to make Beckett quite difficult, as he did little to no listening on this particular day. We know he heard us loud and clear but the listening part was simply not happening.

Although the candy was the highlight for sure, the Easter egg hunts are close behind.

Until Carson becomes more proficient at walking, the egg hunts are a one-kid show for us, although Carson did do some crawling and managed to grab a few eggs himself.

Beckett has not quite grasped the competitive nature of the Easter egg hunts, though.

Due to special events and friend and family gatherings, my kids took part in four Easter egg hunts last weekend, and the only aspect consistent about all of them was Beckett’s inability to get the competitive nature of the events.

Instead of racing around trying to gather as many eggs as possible, my oldest son, instead, went the methodical route, examining each egg’s contents before moving on.

In some cases, the thorough examination turned into more of an all-you-can-eat candy buffet, as a familiar scene played out throughout the weekend.

He would run up to an egg, shake it and then crack it open, spilling the contents on to the ground, usually eating whatever he found.

In the rare case there were a few coins inside an egg, he invariably said, “oh, I like money,” but all he really wanted was candy.

When he discovered the good stuff inside, it was not a surprise to see him slowly eat it before moving on to the next egg. All the while, the other kids had their baskets full.

There were moments during the Berlin Spring Celebration’s Easter egg hunt that I just shook my head in bewilderment at his approach.

Prior, I was worried I would not be able to get any photos of him during the mad scramble for eggs. It turns out those concerns were silly, as he was in perpetual slow motion throughout the entire event.

Consequently, most photos of him include him finding the egg, examining it, cracking it open and then standing still eating its contents before moving along to find something else to eat.

All the while, in many of the photos, there are nothing but blurs in the background representing the fellow participants.

It was a funny, unexpected turn of events for us, as we figured he would be a crazy man.

One other unforeseen situation involved a meeting with the Easter bunny.

Based off what happened with Santa Claus four months ago (Beckett had a total meltdown), we worried an encounter with the bunny might result in a similar situation. Fortunately, that didn’t happen. He shook the bunny’s hands and smiled for the camera.

Easter further confirmed for me there’s no predictability when it comes to these kids.

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