Xristos Anesti

This Easter weekend was really unbelievably refreshing and relaxing and wonderful. The weather couldn't have been better. All three of my brothers were home. I spent tons of time outside and cooking with my gram and ate good food and the only money I spent was on an Easter Lily for Gram and vitamin water and chocolate milk for Matt and me.

Saturday was perfect and reminded me just how much can be done in a day when 9 hours aren't devoted to sitting in an office.

I fell asleep on the couch Friday night, and woke up at 8:30 to dogs climbing on my face. I put my wash in and sat on the deck with my Gram having tea and tangerines for breakfast. I hung my clothes on the line, which is something I miss terribly living in dirty crowded city air. I searched for my cutoffs but couldn't find them anywhere. I played football with my brothers. Then I picked up Matt and we hiked up a mountain all the way to the top where you could see a lot of other mountains. We ate teaberries and I fell a dozen times because the leaves were slippery and some parts were really steep. We went to get drinks and to Old Post Farm to buy my Gram Easter flowers. When I got home I played baseball in the pasture with my brothers and my dad. We came in to eat dinner when my Gram rang the bell and it was getting difficult to see the ball anyway. After dinner we dyed the most beautiful Easter eggs. My gram is really into holidays and also saves everything so we had all sorts of egg dying kits to mix and match. Metallic paint, glitter, stickers, stencils--the works. Then I went to have a drink with my younger brother at a bar down the street where you are guaranteed to see several people from your graduating class anytime you go there, especially around holidays. Then I picked up Matt and we went down the Mountain to Ivy's brother's house for a campfire. When I dropped Matt of at home there were three black bears in his yard eating out of the birdfeeder.
Doesn't that all just sound like magic?

Sunday brought more baseball (including me getting hit in the eyebrow so now I have some baseball thread shaped cuts and puffiness), a complete weeding of the garden (I burned the leaves right off the top to stir the ash into the soil), cooking Easter dinner (my dad got me a tofurkey!), and general comradeship. We did Greek Easter traditions as well as American ones and all my brothers' girlfriends politely obliged any greetings of "Xristos Anesti" with the proper response, "Alithos anesti"

It was nice to forget about taxes and rude clients and drivers and so much litter and being blown off for something like 70% of the plans I make with friends.

I recently found out I've been spelling "flier" consistently wrong for at least a year. A flyer is one who flies. A flier tells you about shows and dance parties and tax services.

Also, a really cute little old lady just taught me "I is for him and E is for her" as a way to remember the difference between Frances and Francis. Good to know!

"In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.”

-Margaret Atwood