An Easter Bunny Memory

Good morning, 

Today's blog sends me back to one of my Easter moments when I was about nine or ten when believing in the Easter bunny was such a big deal for my brother Gilbert and me.

 As far as I can look back, our mom would read and sing to us the rhyme book to Peter Rabbit and we would imagine him tiptoeing at night throughout the house with our Easter Baskets.  Wow, we were waiting to catch a glimpse of him or hear some thumping down the small hallway.

But we never had a chance to get to see the sneaky bunny. 

   A week before Easter, mom would make the effort and drive downtown, which was quite away from where we lived, and buy us our clothing.  We would save the eggshells and dye them on Good Friday.  Later in the evening we would curl up next to mom on the couch and watch The Ten Commandments until we fell asleep and carry us to our room.  

 My brother and I shared a small bedroom.  The walls were covered with colorful orange wallpaper it had thin stripes 

 running up and down.  Mom had made us Peter Pan  & Tinkerbell curtains that matched our bunk beds. The room looked incredible and cozy. 

 I slept on the bottom bunk because I was afraid of heights and my brave little brother slept on the top bunk. He fell several times but he didn't care, he would pick himself and his blanket off the floor and climb on the ladder and go right back to sleep. Lol.

Sunday morning we would wake up at dawn to the sound of our mom's soft voice telling us that the Easter Bunny had left us a surprise!  My brother was the first to jump off the top bunk and run to the doorway, I would follow him to the doorway and see two big candy-filled baskets.   What trinkets would we get this year?  We didn't care much for the goodies,  all we wanted were the toys they came with.   I clearly remember that year my basket had paper dolls with cut-off clothes and my brother was thrilled to see his with a big yellow tractor truck and farm animals. 

Staying awake most of the night and not making it past midnight, we were puzzled by how and when the Easter bunny arrived at our house during the night.   

 We both hated ripping open our  Easter baskets that were fully taped onto each candy and toy.  Gilbert would get impatient when my dad used the scissors to tear open his basket. He wanted to see his truck up close and play with the farm animals asap.  

Finally, my mom would pick up the mess the grass left, our mom would wash us up and very neatly lay our Sunday outfits on each of our beds.  This moment is memorable to me because I would see our beautiful momma taking the time to iron our outfits and begin the day.  That Easter, 1975, I wore a dainty dress that had its accessories; a matching

 hat with tie-up ribbons, gloves, and white glossy purse, ruffled socks, and white polished shoes. Oh, how I loved to dress up for the occasion.  

On Friday night  I would sleep with pink soft curlers made out of sponges that were very uncomfortable to sleep on. Lol.  Morning would come and Mom would sit me in front of her mirror and gently remove each curler and set my long brown hair with a pretty bow. 

Now as for my brother Gilbert, he was dressed last because he was the youngest he would jump and horse around the house and wouldn't stay still. He needed to be sharp for our pictures. 

On this Sunday morning mom dressed him in a light blue button-up shirt that matched the cute bow tie, he wore sleek blue pants and awesome black cowboy boots. 

Little brother had black hair with big locks and his big black eyes would sparkle with his wonderful personality.   It was easy for him to be hilarious at a very young age, he could bring a smile to anyone and bring a laugh to anyone.  And he still hasn't lost his charm.

  As the years went on, the Easter holidays were made incredibly wonderful by both our parents.  Gilbert and I didn't care if we were teased by other kids and that our Easter Bunny stories told were not credible enough a lot of them.  All I remember is what fun we had that year in '75. 

Mom's traditions stayed the same every year; we wore our best clothes and had Easter Baskets,  dozens of confetti-filled eggs, and Peter Rabbit who was the coolest bunny ever that never, ever got caught. 

Love Will Keep Us Together is the first release by the duo Captain & Tennille. It was released in 1975 by A&M Records in both stereos (SP-4552) and CD-4 quadraphonic (QU-54552) versions. The album would peak at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 album chart, while the title song, "Love Will Keep Us Together", won the Grammy Award for Record Of The Year and was nominated for Song Of The Year.