Nostalgia

Nostalgia. 1 : the state of being homesick : homesickness. 2 : a wistful or excessively sentimental yearning for return to or of some past period or place with happy personal associations 

Easter Sunday was a pretty big deal in my house growing up. We aren’t religious and I don’t think we ever went to church although maybe we would sometimes go for the service; my Mum loves to sing and my Gangan did too. 

My sister and I (later in life, little bro too) would wake up and walk downstairs, finding little chocolate eggs wrapped in shiny foil hidden for us by the Easter Bunny. In the kitchen there would be a bigger chocolate egg in a box for each of us, with a note from the Easter Bunny wishing us a Happy Easter.

There would also be a small basket on the table and inside would be a bird’s nest filled with those yellow fluffy chicks that had red plastic feet and whose eyes were always a bit wonky making them look totally insane, along with every Brits all-time favourite, mini eggs!

Sunday lunch was a pretty formal affair by today’s standards and we would drive to my grandparents where we would be treated to ANOTHER Easter egg hunt, this time in the garden and MORE chocolates eggs, again from the Easter Bunny. I still remember the day I realised that the Easter Bunny had suspiciously similar handwriting to my grandma…

As the eldest sibling I kept my mouth shut and enjoyed the fun of it all, the same way I would’ve done when I became suspicious about the tooth fairy (I think there was a time she ‘forgot’ to come which I didn’t believe she would ever do so suspected Mum) and Father Christmas (when I saw Mum or Dad leaving a stocking at the end of the bed in the middle of the night and pretended not to notice)

I am fully aware, we were wonderfully spoilt in all of these moments. And as a result I have always loved the sense of occasion that comes with all celebrated holidays and traditions. Nowadays it’s no longer all about the chocolate or the egg hunts; even looking back I can see it was just as much about having everyone together as it was about the bunnies.

I try to hold onto a tiny part of what Mum did for us. In later years I’ve aimed to maintain the ceremony of Easter Sunday. Long lunches with friends, gifting little gold Lindt bunnies and even making an Easter bonnet (that one was only last night for our #isoquiz)

Today, I sit very far away from the home that gave me these idyllic memories and unable to bring my loved ones together for a long lunch. The lack of physical community is very much noticed.

I am very lucky to have been overwhelmed with thoughtful love-filled Easter deliveries from friends over the long weekend; I had a long walk in the Sydney sunshine, chocolate with my breakfast and a mini roast for two using my Easter bonnet and those yellow fluffy crazy chicks as a table centrepiece.

Note to self: it’s the little things that make big memories.