Easter Survival Guide

As a parent, I always wanted to thrive rather than just survive, right? In theory, that was my motto. In reality, sometimes I just wanted certain days to be over. This was especially true with holidays. One of the things I learned was "less was often more." I wanted to make memories and develop traditions. Traditions are good for children. They create memories and stability for all of us. I felt strongly about this for "spiritual holidays."

Easter was a holiday I wanted significant traditions. I put a lot of pressure on myself. This included everything I wasn't doing that other families did. We didn't go to a large community Easter egg hunt. We didn't have an Easter breakfast for the whole family. I didn't decorate the house for Easter. This was a about all the false guilt I put on myself as I compared myself to other moms.

We went to Good Friday and Easter services. When my children were young we did special Easter devotions. We read books about every aspect of Easter. We decorated eggs. I taught the children's church lesson on Easter morning. My husband was a pastor so his whole weekend was tremendously busy so I handled most of the activities with our children. I also prayed lfor the Easter service with our children. I invited our staff over on Easter Night for dinner. I wasn't having any fun but I was trying to do Easter "right!"

What happened? My son was born who was later diagnosed on the autism spectrum. I now had three children and the youngest was not as flexible as his older siblings. Our church had grown and there were multiple services on Easter weekend. I couldn't keep all of my "traditions up." When I tried, I was no fun to be around. I was mad at everyone who got in the way of my perfect Easter plan.

What was the solution. Easter became a Christian holiday for us. Nothing else. Something had to give. I chose to give up my dream of the perfect Easter celebration. I couldn't do it all. There were some non negotiables as a pastor's family. Our life was going to be busy with the church. I was going to focus on the spiritual side of Easter with special devotions. If someone invited us for Easter lunch at their home, we often accepted. On those years, my children did an Easter egg hunt if there was one at that home. We ordered pizza on many Easters. My husband slept most of the day after lunch because he was exhausted. My children and I made empty tomb rolls and they enjoyed their Easter baskets.

I learned the secret to holiday happiness as a mom. Simplify!! I was a happier mom once I chose to simplify our holiday. I enjoyed the few things we did as a family much more. When I got rid of the guilt of not doing it all, it really lightened the load.

 

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