Easter insanity

Canadians love their long weekends. Especially ones that happen in the warmer months. If you're lucky enough to work for the government or are part of the education system, you even get an extra day at Easter. So what do we find to do on our stat holiday? Usually work.

Unlike most holiday weekends, Easter is rife with opportunities to exhaust ourselves. First of all, there is spring cleaning. Since all family members are home and available (if you're lucky and you can find them), some of the larger chores can get done. This often turns mothers/wives into raving lunatics as they try to organize their children and spouses into effective cleaning machines. I don't know why we try. If I'm a typical mother (and I think I am, although some would argue differently), then I end up finishing or redoing the chore. Which either means that I'm a perfectionist, or my kids figure that if they do a half-assed job then I'll never ask again. It's probably a little of both.

Another fun project for Easter weekend is gardening. Since the weather has warmed up and we've emerged from our snowbound state (well, at least if you're in Ontario), the ugly evidence of winter is everywhere. Time to rake, dig, cut back, scoop (for dog owners, probably the worst lawn chore), and fertilize. This is back-breaking work and, if you're lucky, you can charm your husband (or significant other) into helping out. On rare occasions, I've even managed to enlist my sons but it's usually accompanied by grumbling about crazy gardeners and gets deserted about halfway through with more important plans, like biking with friends.

Easter also gives us time to do some family things like dying Easter eggs and setting up an egg hunt. Even though my boys are in their teens, they still want me to find those hard-to-discover places to put their chocolates. However, they are both much taller than I am so I have to use hiding spots that are close to the ground but above my dog's head (she's a miniature poodle). Not the easiest thing to do. Strangely, I've found chocolate eggs in September in my laundry room. For some reason, they never go there.

Finally, to really challenge ourselves to make the most of this weekend, we have a big Easter dinner. This year, I volunteered to take on our family feast which included 22 people. This involved rearranging the main floor of our house, cooking for three days and cleaning as much of the viewable surfaces that I could manage. I vacuumed twice because I have a cat and nephews with allergies. We also had to clean the cages of all of the reptiles so they'd be more presentable (not that it makes everyone comfortable with them). This year, Ben's girlfriend, who is a holiday freak like me, and my culinary arts boarder helped me decorate my tables with Easter baskets, confetti, chocolate eggs and party favours. It was a lot of fun and I slept like a baby when it was all over.

Can't wait for May 24 -- the next long weekend. I should have recovered by then.