Writer on the Wall

Woke up this morning after the longest travel day ever – 18 hours home from vacation in Georgia. After a week out of town, the provisions in the fridge were depressingly low. I don’t do black coffee, so I had to make a run to the store for cream.

While I was out, I had to get some things for my little girl. Yes, she’ll be 12 in a month, but she’s still my baby.

It’s Easter. I had to make it special for her. Even if she’s 11 going on 16, you have to hang on to that childhood as long as you can.

I bought various candies and Easter treats to hide in the plastic eggs I got for her last year. While she was still sleeping, I filled the eggs and hid them in the back yard.

She finally awoke, around 9:30. I made ham and cheese omelettes for all of us, and then we got dressed. I helped her braid her hair the way she wanted it. Then it was time for the Easter egg hunt!

It’s not any less fun if only one person is doing the hunting, not if you did the hiding just for that person.

So often these days, her smiles are just for the camera. But this morning, searching for eggs hidden by her mama just for her, some real smiles emerged.

She found the easy ones right away. Then for the second half, I had to give her hints. “You’re cold.” “Your getting warmer.” “You’re hot!”

Before too long, she had found them. I said, “You need to open them all. One has a clue to another treat.”

(Shopping before coffee has its downfalls – some of the treats were too big to fit into the Easter eggs.)

Her clue said, “Find some more treats in the thing in the yard where you cook.” That was no problem for her – first she tried the big grill, then she found the treats in the little Weber grill.

She’s growing up so fast. But I still have a chance to make memories with her. It just takes a little planning. And the smiles that result make it so worth the effort.