Our family has had an emotionally exhausting quarantine period, with lots of challenges, but even more silver linings and moments of gratitude. My sweet mother-in-law entered the hospital in late March and shortly thereafter, Mike went to stay with his dad up in Lowell. He ended up bringing his dad down to our house for a week. We were all nervous about the trip but Mike’s mom was pretty adamant that he come for a visit while she was being treated. So they made the drive from Lowell and we got to enjoy time with Grandpa Harry. He was such a delight to host.

He and Caroline made brownies…and she was smitten because he helped her lick the bowl:

These two best buddies made button necklaces together and he introduced her to ice cream bars:

Caroline also discovered one of Grandpa Harry’s best attributes: story reading. Book choices: Twas the Night Before Christmas and Corduroy. She was a captive audience and he handled her 10,000 questions like a champ.

Vivi took to him, as well:

Everyone enjoyed getting a little sunshine on Palm Sunday and having a picnic under our beautiful tree:

We kept monitoring Donna’s progress up in Lowell and it wasn’t looking very good. Mike and his dad decided to head back to be closer to her. Before they left, we made this poster for them to bring, to help her feel surrounded by family who loved her:

Unfortunately, she never got to see the poster, nor her husband (of 56 years!) or children. She passed away on Tuesday, April 7, in a sad surprise to us all. Heartbroken, Mike and his dad drove back up to Lowell on Wednesday.

Lucky for us, these two came back on the Saturday before Easter, along with Mike’s brother John, who was spending just one night before continuing the drive to Atlanta (taking Harry with him, to stay for awhile). It was nice to have everyone together for Saturday night dinner and I knew the crew would be exhausted from the drive so I coaxed Caroline into helping me set a pretty table and we put together a little Easter feast. We had chicken, Meg’s delicious mac n’ cheese, salad, bread, and ‘Spead Sister Squad’ ice cream cake (from WAIFWYP) for dessert. The gorgeous flowers were also sent to us from WAIFWYP–everyone has been so sweet and generous to our family.

At dinner, Mike gave a sweet toast to his mom (Kahlua & soda–her unique drink of choice) and we all told funny stories about her. Everyone went to bed early, exhausted.

Early Easter morning, Caroline woke up around 5 am crying and Vivi was up by 6. John and Harry got on the road before 7 am. Mike and I, blearly-eyed, tried to get the day started. But this was no easy feat for a family that typically sleeps until 8 am. We made the best of the morning, making sweet cinnamon sugar muffins and giving them bunny ears accessories. Around 9 am, we put Vivi down for a nap and I declared it was nap time for Mike and me too. I told Caroline to do whatever she wanted–quietly. This worked for about an hour until I felt her rubbing chapstick on my face, about 4 inches from me, around 10 am.

I sighed and got up, letting Mike sleep because he was wiped out. I dressed these two in their Easter finest and bribed them with lollipops to get some cute front porch shots:

How did this little girl get so grown up??

OK then they were both just over it:

We walked to the park, visiting the lions en route:

With hard-earned lollipops at last!

Everyone started melting down at that point and the end result was this, on our way back to the house:

It was the perfect time to open the sweet Easter card from Kelly Farrell!

After lunch, we searched high and low for the Easter baskets the bunny brought. Caroline found all of them!

Such treasures this year! The bunny brought Suelen hot chocolate, candy, gum, and face masks, Mike got a LOT of cashews, Laura got Hershey kisses, Caroline got a kite, watercolors, an outfit, band-aids, and toothpaste, Vivi got a BIG gift (later) but in her basket got egg chalk, an outfit, and a wind-up butterfly.

Vivi renewed her love for Pooh Bear:

These were the best family shots we got…

And then on to the Egg Hunt!

We all took naps that afternoon. Then right before dinner, we unveiled Vivi’s big gift! She was thrilled.

We took a family stroll to the park. Vivi found her new helmet fascinating and her scooter delicious.

Later that night, we enjoyed sweet treats from the Betancourts (left on our porch!) and this adorable basket of Easter goodies, too. So many sweet little touches that made this simple Easter really nice.

So Easter felt a little strange. The simplicity was refreshing–we have no need for loads of candy or elaborate gifts (the Bandaids were the BIGGEST hit, followed by the toothpaste). These are good takeaways. But grieving is hard and it comes in waves and yet “normal” life continues on. Work. Dishes. Baths. Diaper changes. Toddler meltdowns. Sometimes you’re happy for the distractions and sometimes you don’t want to deal with it. But the largest silver lining has been the support we have received from loved ones. We have been so grateful to all of the people who have been taking care of us–Suelen for taking such great care of our littles, our family, friends, and co-workers who have showered us with cards, food, treats, flowers, and well-wishes. It truly has been amazing and makes me want to be a better friend to those in their times of need!