Like most households I assume, Easter baskets were opened at my house early in the morning on Sunday.
By the end of the day on Easter, I was convinced the kids should not get to open their baskets until the end of the day.
I was not thinking along the lines of using it as a reward if they were good throughout the day. I was more being responsive to concerns Beckett had expressed repeatedly throughout our day.
He was questioning how fair it is to let kids open their Easter baskets, see all the candy and great gifts and then have to rush off to church and visit family before being allowed to enjoy what the Easter bunny brought him. I can’t remember exactly how he phrased it each and every time it came up but it usually involved, “in what world is that a fair way to celebrate Easter?”
He had a point and I agree it wasn’t fair, but after constant harassing about the subject I had come to the conclusion nothing was going to make him happy. Therefore I resorted to the silly statement, “well, life’s not always fair.” I remember that being said to me growing up and I understood his reaction, which seemed to be along the lines of, “well, why is that the case?”
In all fairness to the boys, they are troopers on Easter. We ask a lot of them and it’s probably not all that fun for them most of the time. They want to devour candy first thing in the morning and we negotiate it down to a few pieces after their breakfast. We cut their playtime short with their baskets of fun for church. Rather than going right home afterwards, they have brunch with family followed by other family gatherings. All the while we make them wear uncomfortable clothes, which start so tidy and end up the opposite. By the time we get home, they have some time to play with their gifts before being rushed to bed.
Throughout all this, we are trying to ensure they understand the true meaning of the Easter holiday and remembering it’s about a lot more than bunnies and gift baskets.
As I drove him to karate camp on Good Friday, I asked Beckett if he knew why he was off school that day. At first he said it was because it was the end of the marking period. After being told that was not correct, he remembered it was because of Good Friday and that was the day when Jesus was “crunchificated.” He immediately acknowledged having a hard time pronouncing that word but assured he knew what happened to him, referring to details proving he knew his stuff.
Later on Easter Sunday, when I asked him why we observed it, he said a lot of things that were on the money and ended with “Jesus’s rescreation.” In this case, we just let it go because he impressed us with his knowledge up until that point.
After a long Easter and lots of driving, which meant a couple naps for Carson, the kids were thrilled to be able to finally enjoy their baskets and the gifts inside. After a couple hours, I reminded Beckett he had to go to school the next morning. He was okay with it until Carson started laughing from across the room because he didn’t have school on Monday. That had Beckett playing the victim card even more than he already had throughout the day.
It was another memorable Easter.
I never know what I’m going to find when I walk into Beckett’s room to wake him up each morning, but one morning last week was unlike any before.
By way of background, Beckett came downstairs on this particular night well after his bedtime. I can’t remember the last time that happened because he usually crashes hard at night. Once he’s asleep, he done for until we wake him up in the morning.
On this particular night, something was spooking him in his room evidently. Pam, who surely regretted this move later, offered to lay with him for a few minutes. That turned into her spending the night in his room and in his bed with him because he didn’t want her to leave him.
When I went to check on them in the middle of the night, they were both asleep and I figured I would just let her sleep there because they both looked so peaceful.
Come early the next morning, they had company, as Carson had joined them in the now tight double bed at some point. Pam had nowhere to go, as she had Carson on one side and Beckett on the other. She was stuck in the middle with both draped over her without an exit option that would not wake up one or both of them.
With my help, she was able to get out of bed without waking them up. It was quite the feat, but she was understandably exhausted the entire next day.
Sleeping with one of our boys is always eventful. There are the random hand swats and kicks as well as the stealing of the covers and bizarre sounds each of them make. Add them both to one bed with one mom and that’s not a good thing. However, it was one great photo opportunity that will be meaningful years from now.
