City Personals
Usually everyone is traveling, or having family over since it is a long weekend. Children are enjoying their time off from school and the work. This Easter was just a little off from the norm to which we are accustomed. Is it the new normal? Maybe not to the extreme as it was Sunday, but the fun that I saw being had all over Facebook may, and should, be the normal.
Easter is always a big Sunday for every church in the country. Sometimes, it is one of two Sundays that folks gather in their churches, dressed to the nines. The younger groups hunting eggs on the church grounds, or in the parish halls if it is inclement weather, while the adults sip coffee and snap pictures. This past Sunday, however, was very different. Our preacher at First Presbyterian, George Estes, emailed our service. He has done that since the beginning of the Coronavirus pandemic. Although we are a small church (less than 20 in the pews on a good Sunday), he knew if we met in our gorgeous sanctuary, we would not only risk the health of others, but our health as well. As most churches, we have our “own” pews. Even still, the risk is just too great. Most of our other churches offer an online service and have since the outbreak. The preachers in the pulpits are still delivering their fabulous messages of hope and those of healing, just on the computer screen instead of in person. I love my church, my preacher and our congregation and God loves us enough for us to feel His power no matter the walls around us in which we hear the message.
I have a lot of parents of small people on my social media friends list. Obviously they had all been watching the weather for Easter, as pictures started popping up Saturday of their lovelies. There were posts after posts of precious children dressed in their beautiful Easter frocks. Sunday morning, pictures of what the Easter bunny left them strewn all over their homes were well documented. A lot of families continued the egg hunt tradition only on a smaller scale. Every single picture had a smiling face as though it was the same as Easters in the past, not a care in the world except for who had the most eggs collected in their basket at the end of the hunt!
What did not, nor does it ever, disappoint was the cross in the yard at the United Methodist Church. I was so worried because church was being held differently for health reasons that the cross would be bare Easter. When I turned on Van Dorn, there it was, covered with flowers from top to bottom. It was the most beautiful sight!
We enjoyed a scrumptious meal at my Momma’s house. While everything was cooking, we enjoyed a game of spinner dominoes. They sure have come a long way since I played decades ago! We had branches going off of branches all over the table. We stopped long enough to eat then picked up the game again. It was so much fun just being together and playing. After we finished all of the rounds, we played another game called “What Do You Meme.” It goes along with social media using picture cards and cards used to go with the picture card. It was really a lot of fun, too! I cannot remember an Easter when we just sat around Nonnie’s round table and played games. Definitely something that should become the “norm.”