Hopping Down the Bunny Trail...

Easter will be different this year...

And at the Tolvstad household that means taking down all the snowmen decorations and replacing the frozen friends with bunnies, chicks, and jelly beans. At one point today I looked around our living room and thought out loud, " Just enough without being totally cheesy." Because this year my sister and I did the decorating... and we didn't put out every egg, ceramic bunny or Easter basket in the three Rubbermaid tubs that hold our Easter decorations.

However, this is not why Easter will be different this year.

As my Mom inspected our decorating job throughout the house, we all couldn't help but know what was missing. It wasn't the basket with the various birds glued in the ivy wound around its handle. And it wasn't the ceramic bunnies that had eyes that light up. Something wasn't missing, someone was...

The woman who all of her life had dedicated her time to making sure that my family had a great holiday will not be with us on this day of joy. She will not be here to wipe tears from her eyes at church after the choir is finished singing. Or to find her Easter basket. Or to be on my team in Euchre.

I know we will all have a tough time tomorrow, because of my Grandmother's lack of physical presence, but life will go on. The world doesn't stop because someone is missing. School will still be there on Tuesday to challenge me and work will be there to make me roll my eyes. Nothing really has changed except someone is missing. My already small family has gotten smaller, closer but smaller.

But no- that's wrong...

When my Grandma died we all realized how big our family was! Family has taken on a whole new meaning for me... and blood has little to do with it. It is this family that hugs me even when I don't know that's what I needed, who make me laugh, and sing, and dance. Without this family I wouldn't be able to smile and keep going... or more appropriately for the time, keep hopping...