by KRL staff

Some of the KRL staff have shared some Easter memories here-some sweet, some funny, some spiritual, and with reoccurring themes of family and missing Easter eggs. I hope you enjoy their memories and they remind you of some of your own which you are encouraged to share in the comments below! Happy Easter!

Sandra Murphy
When we were little kids, it was always a race to get up, get dressed, see our baskets, hunt for eggs without getting Easter outfits dirty and then hurry to church, allowing time to pick up Grandma on the way. Back at home, it was change into play clothes and eat lunch first but then we got to re-hide the eggs and hunt again. No matter how hard we tried to remember, we hid a dozen and found eleven.

As an adult, I still love the colored eggs. Mom, not so much. We evolved from a basket full of treats to a sandwich baggie with some candy. When I asked if she’d colored eggs, she said, “Yes, I dyed them white. It’s a new thing.”
I now have a Westie-ish boy, Ozzie. He loves his toys. A few years ago, Peeps plush toys for dogs were first introduced. A PR person I work with on magazine articles I write, sent Ozzie a whole set to test. He loved them. The five-inch tall yellow Peeps bunny is still his favorite.
I’m sure if I hid colored eggs in the yard, Ozzie would find all twelve. Whether they’d make it back to the basket intact is uncertain.

Evelyne Vivies
My son’s first Easter egg hunt was both adorable and surprising. It happened when he had just begun to walk. I was surprised by how quickly he picked up his first egg and put it in the new basket that I had given him just minutes before. Despite having yet to talk, he understood the game perfectly. Thinking that I’d be leading him by the hand to find the eggs that Easter Sunday, I was surprised to be two steps behind, trying to catch up to him as he moved quickly throughout the yard. Twelve years later, I’m still two steps behind him, as he tries to teach me his games. Easter is Mother Nature’s way of making us realize that new life springs from the old and it will lead the way.

Mallory Moad
All I can remember is I had cousins who lived next to an open field in Merced and we’d go there and have an Easter egg hunt. One year we found an egg that had been there since the Easter before.

Lee Juslin
One of my fondest childhood memories of Easter is the Egg Hunt. Living in northern N.J., Easter was usually chilly so the dyed eggs, done on Saturday, were hidden inside under tables, behind the sofa, etc.

My brother and I would hunt and when our interest began to flag, my mother would encourage us by yelling COLD or HOT or YOU’RE BURNING UP! One year the hunt lasted all the way to July when we found one lonely egg waiting to be discovered in a cubicle of a tall desk/bookcase piece. I remember it wasn’t squishy but it did smell a bit.

After that, my father, being a businessman, took over the hunt by getting a firm count of the eggs being hidden and then a second count when the hunt was over. No more July surprises.

When we had Scotties, I used the egg hunt idea to devise a kibble hunt. I let them out into the fenced backyard, hid some kibble around the living room, then I’d go to the back door and yell Kibble Hunt. They’d rush in and the fun would begin. After several hunts, it became difficult to find challenging hiding places except for Onslo, our Scottish Fold cat, who, because he had a fondness for dog kibble, would join in. The Scotties didn’t mind because Onz was slow and never got more than one or two pieces. However, kibble hunts were faster than those long ago egg hunts and never lasted into July.

Sharon Tucker
When I was thirteen, I had a bit of a trauma that has influenced my hat wearing for life.
Easter Sunday. Crowded church. I was sitting with my family and sporting a lovely new pastel Easter dress and the cutest little nothing of a white, veiled hat that, being a novice hat wearer I had neglected to secure with any kind of pins. Somehow, my mother didn’t catch my mistake. I was especially pleased that Sunday because a trio of boys my age found the seats right behind my family on that crowded day. The congregation overflowed into the balcony that rarely filled at any other service.
We were in the midst of the minister’s sermon when either he said something surprising or I chose to tilt my head coquettishly because the pretty, little hat slid off my head and into the lap of the boy directly behind me. Where the chutzpa came from I do not know, but I turned in my seat, smiled winningly at the surprised young man and held out my hand for the errant hat. He grinned sheepishly as if he were to blame for the incident, handed me my hat and astoundingly enough, none of the three guys laughed.
I have never bought a dress hat since.

Kathleen Costa
Easter Sunday holds marvelous memories for me from a new outfit for church to coloring eggs, from anticipating a basket of candy to a wonderful sit down dinner with family and friends. Although we always dressed nice for church, special occasions meant special clothes. In 1965, my mother made my sister and me new spring dresses (remember Simplicity dress patterns and babushkas). She chose the same pattern and design, but my material was pink and my sister’s was yellow. My brother? He just wore his little suit and bowtie.
So while she was busy sewing our homemade couture, Dad was in charge of the coloring egg station at the kitchen table (Remember PAS packages). Our noses wrinkled due to the vinegar smell, but we tried so hard to be creative beyond the one-color design. I learned how to mix baths to create colors without a name, and with patience, I was able to make patterns of colors; it was really great the year the wax crayon and tattoo stickers were included.
My dad always stayed behind from church pointing out he needed to help the Easter Bunny hide the eggs. We believed that for several years, especially when we spotted paw prints in the garden and the carrots we left for him all eaten (Ok, we never connected the missing carrots to the carrot salad we had every year). Returning from the festivities at church (singing with the choir, another “plastic” egg hunt, and lots of dessert treats), we’d race into the house grab our baskets filled with jelly beans, chocolate, and that grass stuff and headed out in the backyard to hunt for our eggs.
Dad didn’t count we found them all, and in June our dog found a rotten one…yuck! All this is topped off by either hosting or heading off to family friend’s home for a big sit-down dinner. Along with extra treats, games, and a big ham with all the fixings, we greatly enjoyed all the food and fun. Easter was always anticipated, and in some ways like Halloween, we greatly enjoyed our participation in the festivities.

Tom Sims
Easter, for me, has always been Resurrection Sunday. Our family has never had any particular food or gathering traditions, but we have always worshiped with our faith community. As a child, we would sometimes have new clothes to wear that reflected the newness of life reflected in the Spring and pointing to the wonder of Jesus’ resurrection. Several times, our family prepared Easter breakfast at our home church, but I am not sure what we served other than eggs. As an adult, and as a pastor, I have always wanted to sing two hymns and use one greeting with a specific response.

The hymns were and are:

The first is “Christ, the Lord, Is Risen Today, Alleluia,” with one of my favorite verses being, “Love’s redeeming work is done.”

Then second is “Lo, In the Grave He Lay,” starting slowing and suddenly resounding with, “Up from the grave He arose with a mighty triumph o’re His foes. He arose a victor from the dark domain and He lives forever with His saints to reign.”

The greeting is from the first greeter, “The Lord is risen,” with the second responding, “He is risen indeed.”

Those three things make Easter for me.

Jessica Ham
Every year on Easter when I was a kid, we would go to my grandparent’s house for an Easter Egg hunt. My grandpa would hide a lot of eggs all over their giant yard and my brother and I would run around to find them before the other. They would film every Easter egg hunt so I could go back and watch them some day if I wanted.

We hope that you all have a wonderful Easter no matter what your traditions may be! Check out more of this issue where you will find a lot of Easter recipes, an Easter mystery short story, and much more.

Please share some of your memories with us!