Dear Friends of Eddy and Clayton,
Happy spring!
I love the spring season. I love its holidays, like Easter and Mother’s Day. I love that it’s such a delight to the senses. The sight of color returning to the world will always be magical. The smell of flowers in bloom will always be invigorating. But to me, the best sense of all are the sounds. The sound of birds singing. The sound of rain falling. And most of all, the sound of children laughing.
You see, springtime is Easter time, and there are few sounds more beautiful than of children laughing during Easter. All parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles know the joy that comes from seeing kids scamper around hunting for Easter bunny treats, painting hard-boiled eggs, or any of a dozen other activities.
Unfortunately, social distancing has forced many families to alter their Easter traditions. The famous White House egg roll has been canceled for two years in a row. Many churches remain closed. And it’s not always possible to visit our extended families the way we usually do.
But there’s something truly wonderful that’s come out of this pandemic, and that’s seeing all the ways people and communities have improvised and adapted. There’s an enormous pride that comes with doing what you can with what you have.
For example, take one neighborhood in Atlanta, Georgia.1 Under normal circumstances, all the neighborhood kids go on a community egg hunt every Easter. When coronavirus struck last year, that seemed impossible. But one mom, Brooke Peck, decided that just because something seems impossible doesn’t mean it can’t be done. It just has to be done differently.
So, Brooke took to social media and organized a new kind of egg hunt. Instead of looking for eggs in the bushes or behind trees, she decided, the kids could look for them in the windows. Together, she and her child, along with dozens of other families, all decorated large paper eggs to hang in the windows. Then, on Easter, the kids took to the streets, trying to spot all the eggs they could find. Soon, the makeshift scavenger hunt took off, with over four hundred families joining in! Many walked for miles, counting hundreds of eggs in all.
No, they weren’t from the Easter bunny. They were from somewhere better – the kids’ own hearts and imaginations. And no, it wasn’t a normal Easter. It was a special Easter – and a way to stay connected as a community even when they couldn’t be together.
***
Meanwhile, eight hundred miles away, a 6-year-old girl named Nora had her own idea for how to adapt.2 When her community’s Easter festivities were canceled, Nora decided that instead of hunting plastic eggs, her friends and neighbors could hunt something else, too.
She calls them rock eggs.
First, Nora painted dozens of brightly colored rocks and placed them throughout her neighborhood. Then, with her mother’s help, she created Easter rock kits. Each kit contains five rocks, four paint colors, and instructions. Finally, she created a Facebook page, and announced that anyone who wanted a kit could simply come and grab one off her doorstep. Her goal? To place 500 rock eggs all around the town.
“When people are doing their social distancing walks, they can look for rocks – or so-called Easter eggs,” Nora’s mom explained. “They can have something to hunt for and pick them up and at least have a smile to celebrate Easter with.”
As you can imagine, the idea took off. The rock hunt became so popular, even the town mayor took part!
“I was sad [Easter] was going to be canceled because of the virus,” Nora told the news. “I want to make people happy.” And she did!
***
Spring is a time of growth, renewal, and joy. Yes, we’re still in a pandemic, and many activities still seem impossible. But just because something seems impossible doesn’t mean it can’t be done. It just may have to be done differently. And no, life still hasn’t gone back to normal. But we can make it better than normal.
We can make life special.
Spring is a time of growth, renewal, and joy. I believe there’s a lot of joy to be found in the world around us right now. Kids like Nora, moms like Brooke, and communities all over the world are proving it every day. Let’s get out there and join them!
Have a happy spring!
Sincerely,
1 Nicole Pelletiere, “Families spread love during COVID-19 pandemic with window East egg hunts,” ABC News, April 10, 2020. https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Family/families-spread-love-covid-19-pandemic-window-easter/story?id=70088391
2 Barbara Goldberg, “Coronavirus forces Americans to find Easter fun at least 6 feet apart,” Reuters, April 10, 2020. https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-health-coronavirus-usa-eastereggs-idAFKCN21S126
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