The Octave of Easter

Last year I was at Mepkin Abbey to celebrate the Octave of Easter--actually, I was there for a writing workshop that corresponded with the Octave of Easter.  I had missed Easter Sunday, so it was great to have a chance to celebrate multiple times again through the few days that I was there.

Yesterday, as I moved through my work day with Easter music in my head, I thought about these 8 days that begin with Easter and will end this coming Sunday.  Was it the Easter music in my head that reminded me to be patient with everyone as I looked through files and continued to find mistakes?  Probably not--that schooling started long before Easter and will continue until I retire.

I am surrounded by flowers, the way I was at Mepkin Abbey, but mine are not surviving nearly as well as those did.  I bought tulips in pots the week-end before Easter, and they are mostly done now.  This week-end, I may dig those bulbs into the ground, just to see what will happen in future years.  On Easter Sunday, I brought a pot of hyacinths home from church, and they're on the front porch table.

As I ate some jellybeans yesterday, I thought of all the Easter candy that I used to eat and ration out across the days after I got my Easter basket.  It's been wonderful seeing everyone's Easter posts on Facebook, but it makes me remember past traditions that I forgot to make happen this year.  Once I made hot cross buns from yeast bread made with my own hands.  Once I colored Easter eggs.  Often I was doing this because I was far away from my family, and I needed ways to make my holiday special.  This year, we've had family here, including my mom and dad for the actual holiday.

It's been wonderful having my parents here.  Yesterday we went for breakfast at the beach, and last night we ate in downtown Hollywood.  I love having visitors who remind me of how wonderful it is to be here in this place.  Like those early disciples, I see the world through new lenses.

It is all too easy to leave the high holy days behind.  Ahead of us comes one last festival, Pentecost, and then the long stretch of ordinary time.  Let us linger in this light of Easter.  We have 50 days to celebrate this season until Pentecost.