I meant to blog yesterday but I found myself jumping in the shower, grabbing a quick breakfast and heading out to catch a tour of Los Angeles.
I spend my Easters very differently from the way I grew up but I do have great memories.
First the outfits. We wore beautiful Easter dresses with matching ribbons and hats. Unfortunately I don't have any pics on hand but I will post some soon. (Some of y'all will have fun laughing at me but whatever lol)
Then there were the movies. In Trinidad there weren't many channels at the time for your viewing pleasure so we watched the saaaaame movies every Easter, but I loved them! I particularly enjoyed watching them with my grandfather. Every year we would watch "The Ten Commandments" and "The King and I" (I heart Yul Brenner). There were others but those two were my faves. This year I was pleasantly surprised to see Yul Brenner onscreen. I literally stopped in my tracks in the hotel room and watched the movie with my son. I smiled to myself as I was able to share one of my childhood moments with him.
Next, the food: We used to eat provisions (which is yams, potatoes, cassava and other starches) with lentils, saltfish (a.k.a. bacalhau), salad etc. You knew we were in the season of Lent when you saw that on the menu. :)
And what do all kids look forward to at Easter? THE BASKETS!!!! Filled with chocolates and goodies! My aunt would visit from the US and bring all kinds of goodies especially the huge SOLID chocolate bunnies that seemed to last forever!! I would never be able to eat even as much as the head of the bunny -- too much chocolate for me, but my cousins would devour them. We'd also dye & decorate eggs. This was okay to me at first but I didn't care for it too much. I thought it was one of the most senseless things ever. (I found out later on in life that some people actually eat the eggs after, but uhm... I don't!)
I used to do the Easter baskets with my son & I took him on egg hunts a couple times as well but he showed very little interest in it too so I stopped. Honestly I was happy he didn't like it because I thought it such a drag.
What I didn't realize is that I HAVE started my own tradition with my son...we travel for Easter. He's usually on Spring Break around that time so I take vacation to spend the time with him and it wasn't until my aunt pointed it out that I realized this IS our tradition.
This year was a little unconventional as the holiday met us in our hotel room, experiencing our first mini-earthquake! The entire 35-story building was swaying! SCARE-REEEEE!!! 2 hours away from Mexicali and we felt the waves from the 7.2 quake that hit that area. My son and I stood motionless in our room, eyes blinking and hearts pumping, as the hotel swayed from side to side. You always say you know exactly how to react in a situation until you're actually in it. Should I grab him and dart under the bed? Head for the door? Ok no, if I panic so will he...so I asked him if he wanted to come over to me. He said no and although he was a bit scared, I could see a hint of excitement as he experienced his first earthquake. (He is SO not my child as I was already making deals with Jesus!). It seemed like the longest 2 mins or so of our lives and when it passed we looked out the window and NOONE seemed to be affected! Here I am pulling my heart outta my a** and people were walking around and carrying on with their lives as normal. (Later I found out from residents that they're not rattled until things actually start to shake!)
The funny thing is the day before another tour guide told us that we're here at a great time because they only experience these things once every 5 years and one has since passed. Well you know I wanna see his a** before I leave LA!
Anyway, it's great out here and all but I'm ready to return to the Concrete Jungle ! lol
