Spring is definitely in the air. I can tell by the blossoming azaleas, grass returning to green and an increase in sneezing.

I love to see the rebirth of blooms and the arrival of the warmer weather to help renew the soul. There is comfort in the fact that for everything there is a season.

I awoke in the middle of the night with chocolate bunny ears on my mind. If you haven't had bunny ears at Easter, you are missing out on life.

My parents had three daughters, and nothing pleased my mother more than dressing us up for Easter. Do not get me wrong; I loved the idea of a new dress and shoes as much as the next girl. We all had to be coordinated when we were younger with matching dress color and style. We looked like little dolls.

On Easter morning, we would run to the kitchen table to see what the Easter Bunny brought us. (It did me no emotional damage to believe in the Easter Bunny for about 40 years.) There on the kitchen table would be three bea.jpgul baskets with chocolate bunnies center stage and jelly beans and other assorted delights. Of course, we tore into them before breakfast, but we were only allowed one piece before going to church. We were satisfied, knowing we had treats waiting on us when we got home.

I had a feeling inside that everything was new or renewed for that special day. I remember fussing as we had to put on those itchy crinoline slips, but once we were fully dressed and got to pose for pictures with our Easter baskets, I was smiling. When we went to Church, I was sure God was smiling, too, because we wore our best for him. We may not have fully understood the meaning of Easter at that young age, but we were quiet and respectful and listened to the pastor, anyway, because that is what nicely dressed girls did ... behave.

The lines between mystical bunnies and religion were clearly drawn in our household, but I came to respect the fact when I became a mother that some things in childhood will be remembered long after the baskets are put on the shelf. Children and adults both crave tradition and a sense of holding on to those memories that carry us through life. We look forward to those times that define what being with family means. And, we remember how we ate bunny ears until we are sick. Trust me, my mother did not have to tell us to quit eating candy. We were bouncing off the walls from chocolate and ready for the egg hunt.

The thing about the egg hunt still my.jpgies me. I cannot recall plastic eggs for hunting when we were kids, nor can I remember anyone else's family having plastic eggs. We hid the eggs that we had dyed the day before. Not only that, but then we ate them when we were finished picking them out of bushes and grass. Go figure. We never got food poisoning. I know it is gross, and I cringe at the thought today. Someone must have been watching over us.

Happy Easter!

T&D Correspondent Jan Jordan can be reached by e-mail at Jor8J@aol.com.

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