Preparing for Pascha

My first year preparing for Pascha by myself, I had one day off work and tried to cram all the preparations into Good Friday.  I was on my feet all day working very hard to prepare the items to go into our Easter basket.  I totally missed out on a rare day with my son who was probably 2 at the time and infant daughter.  But, I was adamant about finally getting myself together enough to put it together.  One day Pascha basket preparations is insufficient. 

Ever since I became a homemaker I have spread the Pascha basket preparations over Holy week.  Each day I prepare some of the items for our basket. 

Today, I prepared boiled, dyed and pickled eggs.  Usually, I save dying eggs for Holy Saturday preparing the kids' minds that Christ will rise from the dead.  However, I am making a different Pascha bread this year and want to make it on Holy Saturday so that it will be somewhat fresh on Easter Sunday. 

The kids were very excited to help with this activity...I have been trying to include them in the work this year as they are less of a nuisance in the kitchen now. I actually let them help every year and it is such a disaster.  But they are bigger and more helpful this year...I have not made boiled eggs since Lent began.  They all were eager to sample the eggs after they were dyed.  I insisted that they wait until Easter.  However, I left the room and came back and they had all peeled an egg and were inhaling them.  Six eggs later, we will have to repeat Easter egg dying on Holy Saturday anyway, so we will have deviled eggs for Easter.

I let Lucy participate this year.  I thought she would delight in the activity.  She sat down like all the others.  then I placed eggs in front of each child and two in front of Lucy.  All the other kids plopped eggs into the buckets.  Lucy looked confused, grabbed her egg, which she knew to be food, and thrust it into her mouth.  She took a big crunchy bite--shell and all.  I told her not to eat the shell and to spit it out.  She seemed a bit upset and confused again.  I peeled her egg and then she didn't want it.  She thrust the other egg in her mouth and crunched away.  I made her spit again and peeled it.  She was less interested now, but she finished eating her eggs and toddled away.  Her little bewildered face was such a precious moment.  She was an alien to this strange activity of augmenting food.  I want to remember forever that look of innocence.

 

Mno Hiya Lyta!