Easter and Lent

Another holiday has passed for 2013 and it was short and sweet. Since JAM is the only child he usually gets loads of goodies and this Easter wasn't any different. He got an Easter basket from Mommy & Daddy as well as Grandma & Grandpa. By the way, every year my mom gives me money to buy his Easter basket since it's easier than mailing one. Man! It gave me a glimpse of what it would be like to buy an Easter basket for two kids since I bought two complete Easter baskets. Yeaaaa I think we're waiting on trying for kid #2 haha. Anyways, I hid Easter eggs around my apartment overnight and it was so funny because he woke up before me. He wakes me up and says, "Umm, mom, why are there Easter eggs around the house?" I told him to give me a minute to wake up and he can start hunting. His face lit up and all the fun began.

Baskets full of goodies!

50 eggs all to himself :)

As far as my personal Lenten journey, it was definitely an interesting one. I gave up a few different things during lent, but my two major ones were texting and social media (with the exception of my blog and school work). I honestly didn't think it was going to be a big deal, but in a way it ended up being a little harder than I expected. I usually coordinate many family events and this year isn't any different. I got information about two events to coordinate and I thought "OK, no problem". Well, problem. I easily used to Facebook or text people for their contact information and due to the Lenten season that wasn't a viable option. You see, I'm the type of person who likes checklists. Once I got word of an event I immediately started brainstorming ideas and wanted to get in touch with certain contacts and guests, but I was limited. I couldn't check things off on my list so I started getting restless haha. I think it wouldn't have been so bad if I gave up one or the other, but since I gave up both I had my hands tied. Needless to say, come Easter I wasn't just busy with the holiday weekend. I was a mad women sending out emails, texts, and Facebook messages to complete major parts of my checklist. An annoying part of my personality, I know, but I'm just happy I could clear "to-do" space in my head haha.

The lovely cross I made on Palm Sunday

You know though, it was also interesting to see other people's reactions to my 40 day sacrifice. Family and friends were getting frustrated with me because I wasn't on Facebook or couldn't text. I actually lost a lot of contact with people who I could talk to text or Facebook for hours, but they either weren't comfortable to actually call or they couldn't hold a decent, non-awkward conversation. It showed me that there are a lot of people I associate with that can't think outside of 140 character thoughts. People still had the option to call, visit, or write me a letter, but they acted like it was such an inconvenience or the end of the world that they couldn't text me or communicate through Facebook or other social media outlets. It was even crazier to wake up on Easter and see the 50+ text messages I received from people or the 100+ social media messages and notifications I had. People were messaging me and telling me how they were relieved that I could text again and I have to tell you this, this, and this. Umm, you could have called or visited. You didn't have to wait 40 days to share all these thoughts silly. Eh, I guess it showed me that it's good to unplug once in awhile and have actual face-to-face communication. Luckily this period got me closer with my extended family as well. Instead of just always communicating through text, we have great conversations via Skype or had heartfelt conversations over the phone. It's hard sometimes to have most of my family back home in Chicago, but reconnecting like this was great. This unplugging period also showed me that I need to log more of my inner circle's contact information instead of just depending on social media to get their information. People post so much of their life and personal information on social media that I never had to personally ask for it. I guess this break period showed me that I should still keep my address book and update it once in awhile. Moral of the story, technology is convenient, but it's not everything. Unplug once in awhile. It gives you personal time to focus on yourself and get things done instead of unconsciously trying to stay on the up and up.

How was your Easter or holiday weekend?