My dad always wanted to be part of the Lion’s Club. This was a group of do-gooders in our small town, but you had to be nominated and accepted to get in. Finally, long after I was married, he got his wish. He attended their monthly meetings, got a funny little vest and hat, AND most importantly, he got to help with the Annual Easter Egg Hunt.
The Easter Egg Hunt was always held the day before Easter and it was open to any kid who showed up. And there were LOTS of kids who showed up! Parents were allowed in if they had a small child or a child with special needs. So I’m thinking it was around 1997 that he finally convinced us it was worth a two-hour drive to duke it out with a bunch of other parents over a couple of chocolate eggs and some jelly beans. So we piled the troops into the van (we only had six kids at the time) and we headed to my good old hometown.
The egg hunt started bright and early and we arrived only a few minutes before it began. My Dog Walker was four and he was still unable to really communicate, so he qualified for parental help under the special needs clause. My sweetie carried Princess and looked extremely uncomfortable. He hates stuff like this. I, on the other hand, have a killer instinct that I passed along to Bossy and the Gym Rat. They quickly elbowed their way to the front of the line and waited for the starting gun. Teach and the Drama Queen were on their own.
The field was the size of four softball diamonds with trees and bleachers. There was also a large playground and plenty of places to hide lots of good things. I pulled the Dog Walker’s hand and we started running. He was confused and had no idea what we were doing. He just wanted to get on the swings. My sweetie was faring only slightly better at the other end of the playground. We could see the older kids scattered about, scrambling after one egg or another as they were quickly snatched up by eager hands. Within 15 minutes the game was over. We gathered near the slide to tally up our winnings.
Most of the kids had nothing. The Drama Queen and Teach were both in tears. Bossy was ready to beat up anybody who came within five feet of her. The Gym Rat had a broken plastic egg with a couple of jellybeans. All hung their heads and trudged dejectedly to the van as we suddenly remembered why we usually stay far away from these community get-togethers.
About the time we hit the parking lot, we ran into Grandpa. He was all smiles. "Did you have a good time?" he asked hopefully. The kids tried to smile, really they did, but the empty baskets and the tears gave them away. Grandpa took one look at them and said, "Come on." They looked up. He motioned them toward his pickup truck. They crowded around as he opened the driver’s side door. On the seat sat a huge grocery sack filled with Easter candy. He laughed as he dumped a pile in each offered basket. "I can’t let you go home empty handed!" he said. Tears turned to smiles and suddenly it was all worth it.
P.S. We attended that Egg Hunt on other years and Grandpa got very creative with his candy-giving. One year he followed me and the Dog Walker around and dropped eggs in the grass just in front of him so he could pick them up. He always made sure the kids had fun. Thanks Grandpa!
The Easter Egg Hunt was always held the day before Easter and it was open to any kid who showed up. And there were LOTS of kids who showed up! Parents were allowed in if they had a small child or a child with special needs. So I’m thinking it was around 1997 that he finally convinced us it was worth a two-hour drive to duke it out with a bunch of other parents over a couple of chocolate eggs and some jelly beans. So we piled the troops into the van (we only had six kids at the time) and we headed to my good old hometown.
The egg hunt started bright and early and we arrived only a few minutes before it began. My Dog Walker was four and he was still unable to really communicate, so he qualified for parental help under the special needs clause. My sweetie carried Princess and looked extremely uncomfortable. He hates stuff like this. I, on the other hand, have a killer instinct that I passed along to Bossy and the Gym Rat. They quickly elbowed their way to the front of the line and waited for the starting gun. Teach and the Drama Queen were on their own.
The field was the size of four softball diamonds with trees and bleachers. There was also a large playground and plenty of places to hide lots of good things. I pulled the Dog Walker’s hand and we started running. He was confused and had no idea what we were doing. He just wanted to get on the swings. My sweetie was faring only slightly better at the other end of the playground. We could see the older kids scattered about, scrambling after one egg or another as they were quickly snatched up by eager hands. Within 15 minutes the game was over. We gathered near the slide to tally up our winnings.
About the time we hit the parking lot, we ran into Grandpa. He was all smiles. "Did you have a good time?" he asked hopefully. The kids tried to smile, really they did, but the empty baskets and the tears gave them away. Grandpa took one look at them and said, "Come on." They looked up. He motioned them toward his pickup truck. They crowded around as he opened the driver’s side door. On the seat sat a huge grocery sack filled with Easter candy. He laughed as he dumped a pile in each offered basket. "I can’t let you go home empty handed!" he said. Tears turned to smiles and suddenly it was all worth it.
P.S. We attended that Egg Hunt on other years and Grandpa got very creative with his candy-giving. One year he followed me and the Dog Walker around and dropped eggs in the grass just in front of him so he could pick them up. He always made sure the kids had fun. Thanks Grandpa!
awwwwww what a great grandpa!~
ReplyDeleteI wish I could have done that and if I did I never remembered it. I wish we went to more of the community get togethers by friends say their so much fun. I can't wait for easter
ReplyDeleteSounds like your dad knew how to be prepared! glad he was able to make a happy memory for your kids :) ~Faythe @GMT
ReplyDeleteWhat a great grandpa. We all need one like that. This is my first visit here and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteHappy Easter.
I think you are forgetting a lot of the Easter traditions we had as kids. I remember going for a ride in the foothills with all of the family including grandparents and rolling eggs until they broke. I remember looking for eggs in the morning that had been hidden by the easter bunny. Easter was great when we were kids...........
ReplyDeleteIt looks like one of my siblings (identify yourself!) has left me a comment I need to answer. I meant that our family didn't have a lot of FOOD traditions. We had plenty of great EASTER traditions. That is what I will be sharing on Saturday and Sunday. Stuff from my family growing up and then fun things we did with our own kids on Easter. Sorry for the misunderstanding.
ReplyDeleteSandy
The Egg Hunt I remember best was the one where it was Dad's side of the family and all we did was picnic and roll eggs down a long and dusty hill. Mmm...deviled eggs....that should be your next recipe, Mummy dearest.
ReplyDeleteLet me try this again!! I'm signed into my account now! Not my girls'.
ReplyDeleteThank you for visiting my blog. I'm happy to meet you. My eldest son served his mission in the South Salt Lake Spanish speaking mission. We have LOTS of family in the area. Aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents. Needless to say our son never had one day on homesickness while serving. Plenty of family around to 'baby' him!!