Monday Moanings - March 21, 2016

Spring has sprung...

A sunny but cool opening to the week with a few snow flurries in the air this day. Chance of tulips in full bloom? Probably nil, except at the garden shows and in the grocery stores, where this past week enticing arrays of potted plants have sprung up along with Easter eggs, marshmallow chicks and chocolate bunnies. Truly a feast for all the senses!

And tallest of them all, the most evocative, is also the smelliest, the most likely to cause sneezing, wheezing and tears.

There is nothing quite like being the first person to open the doors of a lily-filled church Easter morning. Dosed up with antihistamines, I braced myself for that blast of fragrance. What begins as a strong but pleasant announcement of floral decorations, in less than a minute balloons into a dizzying, nose-hair twitching, throat-gagging stink bomb.

Duty required the joyous Paschal greeting: "Alleluia! Christ is risen!" answered by, "The Lord is risen, indeed. Alleluia!"

While the people heard my happy acclamation I occasionally heard my inner critic mutter, "Well something surely has arisen here and it stinks!"  (That inner critic of mine always was a bit of a cynic.)

Those church days are well and truly behind me now. I'm happy to be relieved of the annual marathon of eight and sometimes nine worship services between Passion/Palm Sunday and Easter Day. And I'm really happy not to have to open the doors of the church Easter morning.






There is but one plant on my Easter table so far this year.

I've thought about getting a lily - they are such gorgeous blooms - but I think I'll stick to another amazing aroma...

©2016 April Hoeller

Thursday, or Thereabouts - March 17, 2016

As sands through the hourglass, so are the days of the March Break...



School teachers and students along with their families are scrambling to squeeze out every last moment of fun in these last few days of this annual school break. The pressure is on to do more, to have more, to be more - relaxed? rested? renewed?

This old curmudgeon wonders if the hype about making this week all about family and fun, is a bit overplayed, overworked, overdone. I'm all in favour of fun family times, but I'm also a big believer in downtime: no pressure, no program, no duties.

Back in the day when I was in grade school - I did warn you that I'm a curmudgeon right? - the Spring holiday was tied to Easter. This of course meant that it was a movable feast, occurring anywhere between the last week of March and the last week of April; anywhere between icy snow pack and blooming daffodils. The hype, if you could even call it that, went to the tune of "Hear Comes Peter Cottontail" (Gene Autry) alternating with "Easter Parade" (Judy Garland and Fred Astaire). I hopped my way along the pastel bunny trail in the short week preceding the holy days, hearing stories about chicks hatching, solving arithmetic problems about jelly beans and making crafts that all began with cotton balls.




The first four days of the school break were all about family preparations for Easter. There was silverware to be polished, rooms to be cleaned, and food to be cooked. Though not fun in the sense of play, these chores were good family times, full of laughter and stories. After the Easter egg hunt we all headed off to church Easter Sunday morning to sing the great hymns and inhale, choke, sneeze, and/or nearly faint from the fragrance of umpteen dozen Easter Lilies.

Easter Break 1958

Then it was home for the grand feast celebrated with all the family gathered around the dining room table. Monday all we could do was sit around recovering from all the food and festivities. Tuesday Dad went back to work leaving Mom to cope with three kids, chocolate bunnies, jelly beans and hard boiled eggs for four days. We each found our own space and activity. Cardboard boxes became trains, planes, boats and automobiles. There were blanket forts in the living room, colouring books and maybe even a new pack of crayons. If we were really lucky, the Bookmobile came to the bottom of our street and we tagged along with Mom to find more great stories.  And it was grand!

Easter Break 1966

In 1968 the March Break replaced the Easter week holiday in Ontario. At first it came in the last week of March but later moved to the mid point where it now is. My Dad did not take the time off, very few parents could or did. By this time I was in high school and as best as I can recall it was a week of total downtime. I slept in a lot. I watched the afternoon soap operas (The Doctors, Days of our Lives, Another World), and not much else. It was a good break from school. Was it fun? Well not wildly, but I did enjoy the open space. Family time? What's that?

When I had two children of my own in grade school, sleeping in remained a primary feature of the break. Once again there were blanket forts in the living room, colouring books and new crayons. I made special lunches - grilled cheese, hotdogs, toad-in-a-hole, mac & cheese (not Kraft Dinner®) and more. We went outside every day in all kinds of weather and one or two afternoons were spent in front of the TV watching movies from the local video store, over and over again. The big treat was a trip to the movie theatre to see the latest family offering from Disney or Hollywood. It was a good week and it didn't break the bank.





The 21st century March Break looks very different. All the advertising suggests that though it is about family time, it is to be enjoyed anywhere but at home. There are opportunities near and far to fill every waking hour with every kind of activity, much of which seems to assume that both parents have the time off and that money is no object. The pressure is on, the crowds huge.
Hurry up and relax!






I need my downtime in copious quantities. I always have. I am a true introvert married to a true introvert, with two introvert children. It's not good, it's not bad, it's who I am. Not everyone needs all the quiet that I do, but all of us at every age need some time to ourselves, away from the gadgets that ring and beep and flash and crash; away from bosses, parents, siblings and friends; away from oughts and shoulds; at home with who we are.






Before this March Break is over, let yourself (and your kids) play in the daydream world of simple things - cardboard boxes, blanket forts and colouring books, grilled cheese sandwiches, and walks in the world outside the front door.

No batteries required!


Oh, and Schwartz says:

Happy St. Paddy's Day!

©2016 April Hoeller

Thursday, or Thereabouts - March 12, 2015

The All Inclusive Holiday



March Break is but a breath away. Secondary and elementary school teachers and students are counting the minutes before the mad dash to the white, ski slopes or sandy beaches. Either north or south, it is an escape from school and if you believe all the hype, it is all about a week of family fun. And that's a good thing. I'm all in favour of both family and fun. I'm also a big believer in downtime, no pressure, no program, no duties.



Back in the day, when I was in grade school the Spring holiday was tied to Easter. This of course meant that it was a movable feast, occurring anywhere between the last week of March and the last week of April; anywhere between icy snow pack and blooming daffodils. The hype, if you could even call it that, went to the tune of "Hear Comes Peter Cottontail" (Gene Autry) alternating with "Easter Parade" (Judy Garland and Fred Astaire). Though church was buried in there somewhere too, I hopped my way along the pastel Easter bunny trail in the short week preceding the holy days. At school there were stories about chicks hatching, arithmetic problems about jelly beans and a basketful of crafts that all began with cotton balls.

The first four days of the school break were all about family and fun, none of it particularly religious until we all rose to go to church Easter morning (after the Easter egg hunt of course!). There we sang the great hymns, inhaled (and nearly fainted from) the fragrance of umpteen dozen Easter Lilies and wished everybody a Happy Easter. Then it was home for the grand feast celebrated with family gathered around the dining room table. Monday we all just sat around recovering from all the food and festivities. Tuesday Dad went back to work and Mom was left for four days to cope with three kids, chocolate bunnies, jelly beans and hard boiled eggs. It was down time, serious down time. We each found our own space and activity. If we were really lucky, it was a week when the Bookmobile came to the bottom of our street, and we got to go with Mom. That was our outing of the week. And it was grand!





In 1968 the March Break replaced the Easter week holiday in Ontario. At first it came in the last week of March but later moved to the mid point where it now is. My Dad did not take the time off, very few parents could or did. I was in high school when the March Break debuted and as best as I can recall it was a week of total downtime. I slept in a lot. I watched the afternoon soap operas (The Doctors, Days of our Lives, Another World), and not much else. It was a good break from school. Was it fun? Well not wildly, but I did enjoy the open space. Family time? What's that?

When I had two children of my own in grade school, sleeping in remained a primary feature of the break. Added to that there were blanket forts in the living room, really good lunches at home, outdoor play, a choice or two at the video store and the reward of of trip to the movie theatre to see the latest family offering from Disney or Hollywood. It was all about family time at home even though my husband did not have the week off. He was invited to come play in the blanket fort when he got home. There was enough downtime to relax and recharge. It was a good week and it didn't break the bank.




March Break 2015 looks very different. All the advertising suggests that though it is a family time, it is to be enjoyed anywhere but home. There are opportunities near and far to fill every waking hour with every kind of activity. Much of it seems to assume that both parents have the time off and that money is no worry. Downtime? What's that?

I need my downtime in copious quantities. I always have. I am a true introvert married to a true introvert, with two introvert children. It's not good, it's not bad, it's who I am. Not everyone needs all the quiet that I do, but all of us at every age need some time to play by ourselves, away from the gadgets that ring and beep and flash and crash; away from bosses, parents, siblings and friends; away from oughts and shoulds; at home with who we are.

If you are one privileged to have the March Break off, I wish you and yours an all inclusive holiday - one where family time, fun and rest/downtime are in the quantities you truly need to return to the every day refreshed, renewed and happy.

Cheers!

©2015 April Hoeller

Thursday Thermals - March 28, 2013

The lull before the storm - well not a real storm, just a frenzy of activity, the quasi organized chaos that
accompanies any and every festival in my world.

Thank God I no longer have to stage church observances at the same time. For too many years family got sandwiched between the 8 and sometimes 9 worship services that filled up the space from Palm/Passion Sunday through Easter Day. And nothing ever went smoothly in Holy Week - accidents, illness and death were constant companions; so much so that I privately renamed the days "Hell Week". Now there's an experience begging for theological reflection - but not today. Phew!

How did I manage both my family celebrations, with all the trimmings - dying eggs, hiding eggs, hunting for eggs, and of course the big feast - and the Church? Well I know I had more energy 15 to 20 years ago than I do now, but I also know who got the shortest end of the stick - Me - and the Church got the most.

Well that was then. Now I only stage the family festival. What freedom! What joy! Way fewer rules equals way more room for love. My family will gather on Saturday not Easter Day, because that's the best time for us all to get together. I will find some time at some point to meet up with God in the garden (not mine because there's still way too much snow on the ground; a greenhouse perhaps?) and talk about gratitude.

There are still some rules though, traditions which must be followed, but they are neither empty nor onerous. Easter eggs - dyed but not hidden (no horrors to be found in July tucked down behind a bookshelf) - Paska (bread) - a Ukrainian Easter bread (not sure exactly how this made it into the family tradition, but it began with my mother). Then there's the supper - No feast, No festival! Ham, glazed with sweetened mustard and decorated with pineapple slices and maraschino cherries, and scalloped potatoes, dark brown around the edges, are the essentials, while the veg and dessert are variable. This year wilted arugula with roasted spring veggies (Longo's Experience Magazine: Spring 2013) will provide the colour commentary for the ham and potatoes, and for dessert, two pies: apple and lemon meringue. Of course there will be wine. I think a Riesling (Steelpost) from Thirty Bench Wines and for a bit of spice a Gewurtztraminer from Flat Rock Cellars, will go down well.

I gotta get to work; the lull is over.

Take some time to share a festive meal with loved ones this weekend.

Happy Easter!