Easter Easter EASTER!!!

When my Mom was a little girl, they would celebrate Good Friday and the following Saturday by keeping quiet, no music except for prayer songs, spending the time to reflect on why Jesus sacrificed his life. Only on Easter Sunday would there be a celebration, beginning with mass, and then a family feast, always remembering that all this has been possible because of Jesus.

After cat cleanup this Saturday morning, I drive home on a crowded freeway with what seems like an overabundance of SUVs, pickup trucks with crammed picnic gear, every other car driving much more aggressively than usual, most driving faster, more anxious, more stressed. Malls are crowded and regional parks are packed with parties and more cars.

I come home and the house is rumbling because there’s loud music in the neighbor’s backyard, the top of a red bounce house jutting out over the backyard fence.

I know that families need to allow their children to play and enjoy Easter weekend, maybe having their Easter egg hunts on Friday or Saturday. I know that it’s difficult enough to see family members when they’re living so far away, and so many people extend their Easter Sunday celebrations to include Good Friday as well as Saturday.

But then I remember that, as of today, Jesus hasn’t risen yet. That happens tomorrow. And then I remember that there might be an Easter blockbuster sale at Best Buy, and so I think about joining the fray.