Strangest of Easters

Easter has always been a bit of a weird holiday, hasn't it? I mean, despite being linked to the Hebrew calendar and the Jewish festival of Passover (which is why it hops around the calendar so much), it also overlaps heavily with and borrows imagery from many European Pagan springtime and fertility festivals. Even the name Easter is derived from the Old English name for the Goddess of Spring, Eostre. But this year, everything is made that much weirder due to countermeasures and physical distancing.

Thursday evening I got the shopping done while wearing an N95 mask and latex gloves, a first for me. Perhaps even more surprising than perusing the helpfully-marked one-way aisles in Safeway while thus attired was the fact that the majority of the other dozen or so shoppers were similarly garbed, most with homemade cloth masks. I had planned to rid myself of the mask and gloves upon leaving the store, but they had sold out of ham so I left them on and had to roll the windows down while driving to another store in order to prevent my glasses from fogging up.

Friday, we went to our church's website to find the online version of the bulletin for our Good Friday service.  Embedded within the document were links to YouTube videos created by our minister which contained his children's time story, his sermon, and performances of hymns. It was awkward and stilted for us in places, but the four of us really appreciated the chance to worship "together" even separated from the rest of our community by time and space. We all had a copy of the bulletin which the others read on their phones, while I used my iPad and our ChromeCast to put the videos up on the basement television. Watching your minister expound on the similarities between the deaths caused by COVID-19 and the eventual asphyxiation of Jesus on the cross was one thing, but seeing him do it while I was seated comfortably in a recliner with the footrest up made it almost surreal!

That afternoon, we watched Jesus Christ Superstar, which is a bit of an on/off Easter tradition for our household. With our throats primed from hymns and the subtitles turned on though, it became the most interactive sing-along version ever. In fact, following Ted Neely's wailing crescendo in "Gethsemane," Fenya said, "oh, man, I'm sweatin' now."

Before going to bed, Audrey opened up a package that had arrived in the mail earlier that day and called us all to watch. Thinking the package contained leggings or some such, I was slow in joining them, but was delighted to discover it was a selection of t-shirts for each of us from our good friend Jim, now living in Illinois!

Apparently, he had seen the one he gave me online and was compelled to get it for me due to its applicability, which many of my "friends" have seen fit to verify.

Then he was reluctant to leave anyone else out, especially after finding a Viking-theme one for Glory, whom he affectionately refers to as "Valkryie" or occasionally "shield-maiden." It is a pretty metal-looking shirt, I have to say, even more so when you see the words printed on the reverse:

The wording on the back of Fenya's shirt is no slouch in the "whoa" department for a casual garment, and the graphics on the front are brilliantly executed.

We called Jim the next day to express our appreciation, and all he asked for in return was a photo of Glory looking appropriately nonplussed, which she obliged us with:

Now, I guess I need to get Disney+ so we can watch The Mandalorian and Audrey can get a better sense of why kids in her classroom will love her shirt the most...eventually.

Not the most seasonal of vestments perhaps, but a joy nonetheless!

The line for curbside pickup at MFG last week.

Rather than painting Easter eggs, the ladies spent part of Friday (and some of Saturday, and even a little of Sunday) painting miniatures instead. I had taken advantage of the curbside service offered by Mission Fun & Games to get them some appropriate figurines for our now ongoing D&D campaign. I think they turned out wonderfully, especially considering that Fenya had only painted one miniature prior to this, and was the more experienced of my two daughters.

Saturday afternoon we cleared the table for a game of Settlers of Catan that Fenya won handily. In the evening, we ordered takeout from Padmanadi's. Fenya's boyfriend Bobby did the same so that he and Fenya could have a virtual date that evening while Audrey, Glory and I puttered about in the basement colouring and reading while watching Army of Darkness and old episodes of Muppets Tonight. I guess that's maybe not so weird except for the inclination the three of us non-daters had to do nothing, but to do it together.

Sunday was the weirdest though. I'd had a terrible night's sleep and an unsettling dream just prior to waking. 

In the dream, my mother was turning around an enormous motorhome in a campground with little margin for error. Pulling up next to me, she came to a stop so I could board, but opening the back door I saw something that looked more like the back seats of our Ford Flex, not an RV, and there were other people there already. I said aloud that I was going to put my sack lunch (I have no idea) into the back because there was no room upfront. Going around to the starboard side fo the enormous rig, I opened the preferred door, but it was only a washroom (and it was by no means filthy, but dirtier by far than any facilities associated with my late mother!).  I closed the door and the motorhome pulled forward a few inches before stopping again. This was a not uncommon prank for either of my parents to play, so I walked a few steps to open the next door, but before I could grab the handle, the motorhome pulled forward yet again. I raised my voice, telling my mother to stop, that I was not on board, but the motorhome pulled further away, picking up speed until it was on the road. 

Looking away, I somehow knew, in that strange omniscience afforded by some dreams, that the RV was now a jumbo jet, climbing to its cruising altitude and heading east. For reasons I cannot explain, I also knew the jet was bound for Ottawa or another large city in Ontario. I found myself on a bus, seated across from a long-haired man. I looked around to try and get my bearings, and heard my sister's voice, and turned to see her where the long-haired man had been. She said something I cannot remember, which I think was meant to reassure me, but when I awoke, I still felt myself troubled by feelings of abandonment and loss, perhaps unsurprisingly.

Tired in a multiplicity of ways, I joined my family in the basement for the virtual Easter service. When it was finished, I asked if I could leave the preparation of the Easter meal to the others. I should mention that this has never happened before - whenever there has been a holiday meal in our house, I have been involved in making it, usually taking care of whatever is being roasted, while Audrey sorts out the side dishes or the gravy. But on this weirdest of Easters, I had no gumption left for preparing a large meal.

Thankfully Audrey was completely understanding. "You've done plenty of big meals on your own, and the girls can help me," she said. And so it came to pass that, for perhaps the first time in a quarter-century, a feast was being prepared for a holiday and I was not involved with it!

I was unable to get the nap I had hoped for, but got a good video chat in and some gaming research done as well. By suppertime, Audrey had baked and glazed the ham I had managed to find on Thursday (third last one in the store!), Glory had seasoned and roasted a bundle of asparagus, and Fenya had sorted out both mashed potatoes and yams. It was a lovely meal, and I have never been happier to do the cleanup all by myself.

The weirdest element of all was not having more people around the table, friends and family, but Tara and Jerry's plans to join us had been scuttled by the border closure weeks earlier - perhaps that was part of the reason for my dream. But despite the lack of company, we had a lovely Easter dinner.

Masked shopping, virtual church services, remote date-nights, and strange dreams - this Easter was truly one for the books. Like Glory's birthday last weekend, it is likely to imprint itself upon our memories for years to come. Still, amidst so much consternation, it is reassuring to know we can count on each other, and after nearly a month of isolation, we still appreciate each other's company. Some blessings are a joy to count, whatever the season.