Family, Easter Brunch

 

I woke up super early, 5:30a.m to what I thought was an optical illusion, a moon shadow. Found out that it was a planet right next to the moon. I really thought my eyes were playing tricks on me and the glare of the window was causing me to see double.  Glad I woke up early enough to see this and take a photo! I think Steve said its Venus. All the planets are aligned, but this is the only one I was able to see. 

Since I was up early, I started cleaning the kitchen dishes and picking up the house to get ready for everyone to come over for Sunday brunch. I had planned to make a mushroom, spinach quiche and fruit tarts. I never did make the tarts. I had to feed one cat before everyone came over at 11a.m 

Steve made bacon, hash browns, sausages and a ham, while I cut up fruit, made the quiche and cooked waffles. I also got out plates, serving utensils and decorated a little for Easter. Plus, vacuumed the house. Steve also cooked eggs Benedict, while I poured mimosas for everyone and got drinks. I think we sat down after everyone was eating for about 5 minutes in all. Then it was clean up of the plates and food. 

Everyone pretty much ate and left with Steve's parents sticking around for another hour. I was pretty exhausted by that point. Just being done with the whole family thing. Sure some help out a little, but Steve and I do every family gathering. Steve's parents bought some of the food, bread, ham and some bacon, Kendra and family brought bread too and a beautiful white vace and filled with Easter flowers

I don't really care for getting these flowers, but having two in this beautiful vace made me completely change my mind. We used the flowers as a table center piece. 

I bought Easter Baskets for Evan and Madelyn and hid some eggs filled with candies for them to find. Good thing I remember to fill the eggs the night before! I had just enough time to hid them before they arrived. 

I helped Madelyn find her pink bunny eggs, while Evan found the white bunny eggs and they both got equal number of chicken eggs and a few assorted colored eggs too. I had purchased most of the candy ahead of time, but ate some before and had to go buy more on Saturday.  Not much was left on the shelves, so I got creative and found other candies to fill the eggs, minus the jelly beans that we all ate before Easter. 

Celina, Steve and Don dyed eggs Easter Morning. One more last thing to do! 

I was busy making a quiche so we were all in the kitchen while the egg dying was going on. 

Growing up, we never had any opportunity to gather with extended family for holidays. Everyone was on the east coast and we were in Minnesota. So, I never got that big extended family gatherings. Steve and I do like hosting, but I think the joy is gone. So much family conflict at every gathering. It takes the joy out of all the work we do to make food, serve everyone and clean up. We never get invited over to anyone else's house for meals. We are forever the host and servers. Which is what we enjoyed doing for years. Had a family covid break for a year, so coming back out of covid, I was looking forward to gathering again with everyone. Seems no one really wants to be together. Everyone eats and runs, a few help out but mostly its me and Steve jumping though hoops trying to please everyone and make all kinds of accommodations with food, who can show up when and what day. I think what we learned from  covid and now trying to recreate family holidays, it's best to do less. I think we need to step back, let other make plans. I'd like to be waited on and served. I'd like to be invited over to someone else's house. I'd like to be the guest. I'd like to relax and not have to work on a holiday, cleaning and re-cleaning again. Or maybe just plan to do a potluck and meet up somewhere neutral so everyone shares in the planning and prep. Something to think about before the next gathering for Mother's Day/ Steve's birthday!