Easter Sunday

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Easter morning — also Kitts’ 24^th birthday — began with a slam to the head for Puck. While the choir was rehearsing, he had hurried down the middle aisle, tripped, and gone flying head-long into the hymnal grate beneath the chair. Almost immediately, a purple-lined welt rose up between his eyes. After a brief cry, Collette gave him a little arnica, which he always enjoyed taking. It was basically like a candy comfort from his perspective.

“It doesn’t hurt, Mama. It doesn’t hurt,” he insisted, and refused an ice pack.

He did, however, afterward, bear a small resemblance to Worf… despite the reduced swelling.

Meanwhile, after services…

1. Puck received his Easter basket filled with: chalk eggs, a little bunny book, a wind-up Easter egg, bubbles, glow-sticks, and a chocolate cross.

2. Mom, Joe, Francis (who was driving like a pro those days), and Linnea, took off for the car show in Forest Park, to meet up with Rose, straight from church, and the Combs family.

3. Dad, Carrie-Bri, and Puck left to visit Grandma Snicketts.

4. And Collette picked up OLeif from church after playing two services and enjoying a brunch with the choir and praise team.

By 2:30, to the Combs’ house where the rest of the family had just arrived. To the schoolyard for awhile in the wind tunnel of beautiful blue sky and early spring breezes and violets. And back for ham, deviled eggs, rolls, vegetable casserole, and bacon and cheese mashed potatoes.

Grandma had gifts for everyone, including duck soap confetti for Puck, and a certificate of the Hamilton family crest and brief history for Collette, Mom, and a third reserved for Great Uncle Harry.

Uncle Mo had out his old scrapbook of school photographs and school papers. He and Dad talked about all their old stories of teachers, including one particular school teacher, a farm girl, a big gal, who wore flower-print dresses and spoke with a sort of drawl, calling everyone a brother.

“She’d say,” said Uncle Mo, “when I was complaining about not knowing how to do my math problems, ‘Now, Brother Combs, you’re bigger than that math book.”

And apparently she chucked chalkboard erasers at kids who were misbehaving.

“And she hardly ever missed.”

“I’ll bet she practiced at home,” said Linus, laughing about it.

It was always good being with family again.

That evening, after Puck went down, OLeif called up Kitts to wish her a happy birthday. And Collette wrote by the open window to the perfectly green-gray-blue skies, trees, and little winds of an Easter evening, with a tumble of rain cloud to the south. Beautiful, beautiful days.