Easter 2010

This has not been a typical Easter. A typical Easter, growing up in Lattimore included the excitement of going to Lattimore Church with my parents and my 4 sisters and singing 'You asked me how I know he lives? He lives within my heart!" Because with all the questions that Easter brings, we knew we believed the part about the Love living in our hearts.

Mama made our clothes in those days and she would buy plain little white socks and then sew lace on the tops to make them pretty with our black patent leather shoes. We would sing songs, sometimes riding on the lawn mower, about "Innn our EEEA-STER BONN-NETTT!! With all the Frills Upon it!!" Somewhere in that song, there was a parade and a rotogravure. The Hunt girls always loved a parade. We didn't have a clue what a rotogravure was, but it didn't stop us from singing about it at the top of our lungs.

There have been many Easters since those days, but mostly they have been spent somewhere with family and friends for Easter Sunday lunch. Several times in the last few years, our families have gathered at our house for Easter Sunday Lunch. Ham, Deviled Eggs, Macaroni and Cheese, Silver Queen Corn, Green Beans, Homemade Biscuits, Asparagus, Strawberry Salad are required menu items. Everyone brings their specialty and there are always some wonderful additions. I promise to blog the gardening, canning, freezing and recipe tips for the perfect Easter Sunday lunch at some point, but just not right now.

This year, Easter Sunday lunch in the typical setting just wasn't in the cards. Travel plans, college schedules and then an unexpected health crisis with my sweet potato queen sister, Kathie, rattled our cages.

Everytime there has been an unexpected crisis in my life, my parent's advice to me has been "just keep your head up and keep moving forward". This is really good advice. The more challenges that come our way the more I realize that this is an honest truth.

I remember when I was involved with a fundraiser for Cleveland Regional Medical Center. The wonderful political satirist, Mark Russell, had agreed to help for a second time with our foundation and with hospice to honor his son-in-laws parents. No one could have been more excited about this than I was because I loved his humor and I loved the way he made it possible for people of all political sides to laugh with each other (but not at the same time - as he said!!) The date of his performance was September 14, 2001. On 9/11, the world changed. Many of us wondered if we should cancel the show. How could we possibly do comedy/political satire at a time like this?

I remember Dad saying to me, "you just keep doing what you are supposed to be doing". David and I picked Mark Russell up at the airport and took him to eat supper at Alston Bridges BBQ. (His choice and a good one.) During the meal, Mark Russell looked at me and read my mind. He said, "You just can't wait for this to be over, can you". He was so right. I had worked for months to help make this show happen and was so excited about it and now, 9/11 had happened and I was shaken to the core. Everything seemed out of kilter. I can't remember my response, but I remember that we went to Malcolm Brown Auditorium. Mark came out on the stage and said something like, "We have all been through alot, but we are going to do what we came here to do." And he put on one of the funniest, thoughtful shows I have ever seen.

So, this Easter Sunday was not our typical Easter Sunday, but we kept doing what we are supposed to be doing - even if we did it in a little different way.

Last night, we had a sweet spur of the moment Easter Saturday Supper. We had Ham, Deviled Eggs, Macaroni and Cheese, Silver Queen Corn and Green Beans from last year's garden, Homemade Biscuits, Asparagus, Sister's Coconut Cake, Mama Crowder's Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies and Strawberry Salad. We moved chairs and place settings around to accomodate whoever walked in the door at whatever time. The old rugged cross started to transform. We missed the ones who weren't there and we cherished the ones who were there. By Sunday at noon, the transformed cross once again answered the question 'you ask me how I know he lives? He lives within our hearts.'