easter
Oh, that Papa is sly. A planned Easter visit across the mountain can be turned around (Let someone else do the driving for once!) by simply throwing one's back out. Then the parents can bring the granddaughter to the grandparents!
I'll have to remember that.
Of course, the one who spent the most time with the Girl was the old man...
If it weren't for the fact that Nana is so sensible, that girl would be so spoiled that she'd stink worst than durian.
It was warm enough Christmas Eve to sit out on the balcony and smoke a cigar.
Of course, Easter has to be frigid to make up for it.
Growing up not celebrating Easter, I never got to paint eggs as a kid. I'm making up for it now, for K and I seem to have established an annual Easter Egg Painting party.
The adults usually have as much fun as -- if not more fun than -- the kids.
Last Sunday, through the afternoon and evening, friends and family filtered through and painted eggs, ate some traditional Polish seasonal Easter food, and generally relaxed and chatted.
The grandparents, of course, were the first to arrive.
Easter "vacation" is over. It was pleasant enough, but I was a little sad at the end, knowing it was the last major holiday that Kinga will be in her native country for some time. All things come to an end, I suppose, but that particular end is creeping ever closer.
The surprise of the weekend for me was how Wiktor, Kinga's two-and-a-half-year-old nephew, was virtually obsessed with me. Every time he saw me, he was asking, “Wujek, co robisz?” (“Uncle, what are you doing?”) I enjoyed spending time with him, and I actually looked after him for quite a while Friday – or was it Saturday? Can’t recall. At any rate, I enjoyed it, but it was difficult understanding him sometimes. Understanding “baby talk” that’s in a foreign language -- it’s a nightmare. I felt, once again, like I was new in the country, fresh off the plane.
The second surprise: an evening of bridge with everyone. Jan (my father-in-law) taught Daniel (my brother-in-law) how to play bridge, and we played until after midnight Sunday. Kinga and I were partners, and it turned out that she’s an excellent bridge player – better than I am, for sure. We cleaned up, that’s for sure.
This was the first year I didn’t go to the resurrection service. We changed to summertime that Saturday evening/Sunday morning, and the thought of getting up at four (body time) to be at the church at five (again, body time) just did nothing for me.
I went for the blessing of the food -- a Polish tradition that involves going to the church Saturday morning to have a basket of food for Easter breakfast blessed by the priest-- and I went for the night watch, but I just decided to pass on the early morning mass.
