I’ll admit it, I can be a little cheesy. All right, sometimes I might just be the Queen of Cheesetown. When it comes to the holidays I tend to be less about old traditions and more about making traditions that are probably odd for a married couple without kids. For me, I want a big family. Children has always been on the menu, it’s just about the right time (yes, go ahead and laugh) and being able to afford them in the first place (we can afford kids once they’re here, but the cost of having one via surrogate is the same as a six-figure mortgage while adoption is more than all of my undergrad student loans combined – that’s a lot of money). But I have all of these ideas and things I want to do with our future children, and well, why wait?
Easter 2014 is when I kind of surprised my husband with my special blend of Easter crazy-cheese. But then last year we were traveling, on the way to a conference in Minneapolis so my husband was spared the sequel to the 2014 Easter festivities. This year – he wasn’t so lucky! 😛 Last Friday, he cornered me and asked, “So, I think we should talk about Easter.”
Easter Baskets 2014
I tried to play coy, “What do you mean?”
But he knew better. “Are you planning anything for Easter?”
I didn’t respond, but I guess my face betrayed me. “That’s a yes,” he laughed. “Okay, I will too.”
I was actually kind of half-surprised that he remembered. Not because he is thoughtless, but because we both are SO busy, and SO tired and trying to get ready for a trip to Los Angeles (we leave tomorrow, at three in the morning!) that it would have been easy to forget. And my husband will be the first to admit he doesn’t have the world’s greatest memory to begin with.
In truth, I had already done my Easter shopping. And like the first time, I got a bunch of stuff for myself so that if my husband did forget, he wouldn’t feel bad. That’s what I did before, but then again before was the first time, so it was impossible for him to have any idea. And he apparently knows me enough to know that I’m going to do it and he’ll humor me because he thinks it’s sweet or that it’s crazy but he loves me enough or is smart enough not to say so.
On the note of Easter shopping, I think it’s safe to say once we have kids, I will not be allowed to do any holiday shopping by myself. I spent over $120, when it is just my husband and me! I mean it was ridiculous! I went with a friend, and I didn’t ask him to hold me back, though I should have. And he didn’t talk me down so much as help me rationalize my purchases (I joked that he was enabling me). I ended up taking one fourth of it back before Easter, buyer’s remorse is real, and I came to my senses (slightly).
Since Roy (my husband) knew what was coming, it was a lot easier to pull off. And he was a good sport about hanging out in the room until I was done hiding his basket and all of his eggs (39, because he is going to be 39 this year – yes, I’m awful). It took him almost an hour to find everything, because I don’t joke around or believe in “easy places” (yes, that will change with kiddos). I had so much fun and he did a really good job, only needing the “hot or cold” thing for the last eggs. (And where I hid them, I knew I would need to do this, again I am awful.) Then we switched places and it was my turn to find everything.
We were going to see Roy’s brother and his family, but they weren’t feeling well, so we’re tabling that until this evening (if they feel better) or after our trip. It was really sweet of them to think of me (have a big conference in LA and my immune system has never fully bounced back from a year of chemo) and let us know. It ended up being a good thing because we got to pack and clean the house and do all these things we wanted to do before we left, with a day to spare. (So hopefully we won’t be scrambling late Monday night when we hope to go to bed ridiculously early.)
We made banana bread and I wrote while Roy napped. (I seriously envy his ability to fall asleep whenever he wants. I can’t do this, and so wish I could!) Dinner was easy (leftovers!) and we just had a really lax night, which is kind of what I always wanted. I guess when we have kids my ideal day is the big egg/basket hunt in the morning and then just a laidback lunch and dinner. Just spending time as a family, not really going out or doing anything. Nice and easy…
Of course, Roy had an extra-special surprise for me. In an egg there was a note:
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- Roy’s Note Front
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- Roy’s Note Back
A little later on (all right, much later than either of us would have probably preferred) Roy gave me my surprise – a full body rub (I’m super stressed about our trip so it was strictly that, get your mind out of the gutter 😛 ) which I elected to get right before bed. Then it was my turn for one last surprise and I had Roy go on a little scavenger hunt by giving him super corny clues (like when something was hidden inside his laptop I said “You work here and play here,” and when he needed another I said, “Here is one more clue… Don’t Fark it up!” – Fark might be his favorite website ever) and soon Roy discovered eight additional packages of Peeps (like his favorite Easter candy ever). There were a few special versions of the original kind like decorated eggs, but mostly they were special flavors including: Party Cake, Blue Raspberry, Watermelon, and Mystery Flavors 1-3. It ended with him finding a set of stuffed bunnies each holding a huge thing of cotton candy.
“Now you know why I’ll be up until six this morning,” Roy laughed.
“I hope not!” I cried.
Seriously, we both had a great Easter, but we also could use some serious sleep.
“That’s the great thing about being with someone you love for such a long time,” Roy told me after all surprises were out there and we were done for the day, “to have traditions with.”
I left him a note this morning when he woke up, telling him to come down. It was the same note I left him that first time. Because as we’ve covered, I’m sentimental as hell, but I try not to let that secret out – it might threaten my reputation as a hard ass. 😛
I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter this year. I can’t wait to celebrate it with a bunch of little ones running around. Until then, I am perfectly content to spend it with the love of my life, making memories and looking towards that big family future. 🙂
-DMW
