It is very rarely that I get on my podium about religious issues. There are a few reasons for this -
a) I don't want to incite anyone's opinion
b) There are hardly ever any comments on my blog and I would HATE to start that kind of non-sense here (hint - start leaving comments)
c) I have very religious relatives that don't share all my views that I respect a great deal although we do debate nicely with one another.
d) My ability to quote the bible is on the low side and those that like to debate the bible like to quote the bible.
c) I am passive aggressive - Ha! Okay, that is a lie.........hey, stop laughing.
Regardless of my reasons - usually I keep the religious issues out of my blog. However, I found myself thinking about all the inconsistencies I see. Many of you are friends with me on Facebook. My friend BE and I are collecting our SCW high school peers because we are heading up the next reunion - 25 year in 1 year - How cool is that?! As we have gathered these people (who on the whole are fun to reconnect with) I find myself being friends with others who don't share all my same views - and some who have very very conservative views (and louder mouths then mine)when it comes to both religion and politics (some who I have even decided to block because it is SOOOOOOOO difficult for me to sometimes not join into the banter of it all - to save my sanity I have decided to keep them off my Home page instead of listen to their ideas). Last December one of the people who are conservative (but not blocked because she is also respectful of all views) and currently lives in another country to introduce Christianity to that part of the world (very secret stuff because apparently this is so dangerous they could be kicked out or hurt for doing this) made the statement that she was happy not to be in the United States for the Christmas holiday because she dislikes how commercialized and stressful the season is. That we here are unable to make that simple connection to the holiday without the hoopla.
I read that simple statement (because on Facebook you only have like 100 letters to make a statement) as offensive to me and all other in the United States. And I told her so. Nicely. Really, I was nice............hey, stop laughing. I was nice. I just pointed out all the things that our family was doing without the hoopla to celebrate the season. While I didn't feel stressed - we probably were hooplaing it a bit - class parties, gifts for teachers, gifts for family, etc. However, we don't spend much on teacher gifts - mostly we make them and then tuck a very small gift card into them. Family gifts we have downscaled to "just kids" in the family and our parents. The gift thing we do here in the US does seem a bit crazed (I do agree with her), but our family doesn't go in for attending Santa Breakfast or all the holiday parties you get invited to. We used to - but we learned that as she said it makes everything feel nutso and not as much about Christmas. Still I kinda thought she was over generalizing.
There there was yesterday at preschool. Easter is very cool - if we really look at it from the Jesus is the Reason for the Season aspect. Easter is one of those holidays that I really do see more as a Church Owned holiday - not yet taken over by the shopping industry. When I was a kid my parents put together a simple Easter basket with some minimal candy (SuperStar uses the exact same basket I had as a kid) - a chocolate Bunny, some other chocolates and a few jelly beans and hid it in the house. My sister and I loved the search to find it in the morning. Then we put on one of our new spring outfits with a bonnet and shoes and we went to a special church (my Great Grandpa & Grandma Reinwarts)instead of our own church. Then the family all sat down together and ate dinner and we did an Egg hunt. That was it. Church and Family. My Great Grandma Wendy gave us some Mavrakos Marshmallow Eggs. We ran around like goofy with our cousins. That was it.
We have done the same with our kids. Up in the morning to see where the Easter Bunny hid the baskets. Now, our baskets usually have less candy then some and an extra - like sidewalk chalk, an umbrella (really......that year the bunny was smart - the kids LOVED the umbrellas), or one year the bunny did get a little extravagant and brought a $7 hamster. It did seem a bit wrong that a rodent would bring us a rodent, but we went with it. Then, after going to church, our day was spent going from one Grandparents house to the other (divorce on both sides ='s 4 houses to hit - which ='s 4 baskets of something or a gift or something from each). Still I didn't think much about it changing the face of the holiday for our kids. We go to church, we talk about the Resurrection, they get it.
Like I said - it hit me at preschool. The women at preschool don't talk to me much, but that is a whole other blog (no, I am quiet there so it can't be ANYTHING I have ever said - well...they did talk to me a bit at first - then I asked a few to have a playdate and not they don't talk anymore, just kinda smile - it is not something I said wrong). Preschool requires that we are there by 11:20 to pick the kids up - they never get out of the class room until 11:35, but hey I'm not complaining (yes I am). So, being that I am an "on time" person, there is generally ample time for me to sit and be ignored by these other moms. Yesterday I sat on the wall waiting and listening to them talk about the stuff they were buying for their kids Easter baskets. We have ours planned. Both older kids have signed up for a new sport - Baseball for Spidey and Softball for SuperStar. Both kids will need a glove. They will love getting the gloves and we HAVE to get them gloves - so we are going to just roll it into the basket. TheKing will get a Mater Truck to go with his McQueen, PaceCar and TheKing cars. Throw in some candy and that is our little, inexpensive plan.
Listening to these women I realized that they are putting together baskets that are going to put ours to shame and completely support my Facebook SCW friends theory. 100%. I heard one basket will have sidewalk chalk, a Webkinz, a music card, some hair stuff, candy, a video and a toy. Another one would have a Tonka truck - the big kind for the Sandbox and Sand that would also be in the basket gift. Still yet another would have a bike!! How big are these baskets? And the moms sounded all stressed out about getting the right color grass to match the color of the Webkinz - the exact right candy the kid loves (don't kids love ALL candy?) and the list of crazy went on. I sat there thinking, "Hmmm....these people are all mixed up about the holiday.", collected my two boys (we share rides with CK and TheKings bestest friend in the whole world, E) and left thinking I was a bit superior in the Easter department to these women.
And then my olders came home from school. The subject of the holiday came up. They asked if we would be going to STL. We aren't. Too much going on and too many recent trips to STL (and CHI) have rendered us behind in the "gettin' things done" area. They were disappointed. Knowing they love spending time with cousins I figured that was it. So I wasn't immediately surprised when Spidey said, "But we have to go to Nanny's house!" Before I could respond with commiserating statements (because I would actually like to go back to STL for this too) he said, "How will we get our Easter gift from her?"
What? How will he What?
He went on, "and what about Granma R or Papa and GrammaJ? How will they give us their gifts?"
What? He isn't just disappointed about not seeing CuznM?
"We didn't get our candy from them last year either." he continued to whine.
SuperStar stepped in to kinda save her brother from the speech I was orchestrating in my head and said, "Well, Spidey we get to be here and do fun things together with our family. And maybe we can invite some of our friends too." That was nice, but then she added, "Do we have to go to church?"
What? What? What?
I must have really looked my "What?" thought on my face too because she immediately added, "Well, if we have to go to church maybe we can go to that one church that UncleJ likes where the kids get to run around and don't have to think about God and stuff." Now I will admit - our kids don't do terribly well at sitting during Catholic services here in our new town - in STL the service was a bit more interesting and they had friends sitting near them - here - it is just kinda dry and long - so I do feel their pain. When my in laws came to visit once we went to a church they fancied - very nice - children's area that taught religion within play - they loved it, but they didn't much make the connection - perhaps that is a good thing right - trick them into it until they get it? Kinda like school. Kindergarten is fun - and then BAM you are in 1st grade.
Thinking that apparently we don't have the kids as clued into the "Jesus is the Reason for the Season" as much as I thought we did I prepared to have a discussion with BigGuy. SuperStar just kept making it a little more challenging though. She went on - very dreamy like and happy - and talked about, "What do you think the Easter Bunny will bring me this year? I really want a Tri-pod for my camera. Or maybe he could bring me..........." and I started to fade out as I heard Spidey start creating his list of "things" he wanted for Easter.
These were long lists they were spouting off too. It was a Deja Vu moment. I was sure I had been there before. The things the kids were saying sounded like......it was colder then.......they were.............what.........I was thinking...........they sounded like.............SANTA CLAUS lists!!!
"Hey you guys this isn't Christmas. You don't place an order with the Easter Bunny like you do with Santa." I heard myself saying. And in my head I was thinking "Wait....isn't Christmas supposed to be "Jesus is the Reason for the Season" too?" The kids looked at me terribly disappointed. I had burst the commercialized, none religious meaning of the Easter holiday they have cultivated. Too bad for them - because now I am looking at the fact that they had confirmed the bursting of my own bubble - the one that I blew up when my Facebook SCW friend made the statement that in the United States we have gotten too far away from the real reason our religious holidays exist. I was certain she was wrong - I was certain BigGuy and I were doing it right.
What the H-E-Double Hockey Sticks happened to the Easter basket?
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