My kids are crashing from their sugar highs and I am mentally calculating exactly how to stretch my Reese's peanut butter egg stash for as long as humanly possible. Just as I become aggravated with Disney sticking my favorite films in their 'vault', I become a little agitated with the Reese's people for hatching my favorite candy only once a year.
Of course if either the Disney favorites or the eggs were available year 'round I wouldn't appreciate either nearly as much. And, in the case of the eggs, I'd surely weigh 500 pounds...
As I sat looking at Easter baskets this weekend, I realized that sometimes, we can be defined by our candy. Everyone in my family has a favorite. The one candy they receive a little more of than the others because the Easter Bunny knows it's their favorite.
My grandmother, at 87, still enjoys a good Peep. Not the fancy dancy, lavendar or pink Peeps, but the good, old-fashioned yellow Peeps. "As nature intended" she's apt to say. I have photos of my grandma thinking she's sneaking a Peep to the younger members of the family...doing her best to create another Peep-loving generation. She certainly succeeded with M1 and M2.
Hubs loves the Cadbury Eggs. Not that he won't eat any of the other candy lying around, but he has first dibs on the Cadbury's. And, like Grandma, he much prefers the original Cadbury egg rather than all the variations they have created in the past few years.
My dad is still a fan of jelly beans. I'm sure his obsession with them began when mine with the Reese's eggs began--in childhood. And, it's an Easter time thing -- you won't find him eating them in August (as a rule). That's the beauty of Easter candy traditions. You find something good, look forward to it all year and then: a basket with some tucked inside just for you. I can't find a flaw in that arrangement!
In addition to the candy, there are always traditions too. We colored Easter eggs every year and would look over the bare, boiled eggs to pick one to bestow the greatest honor upon. The last egg to be colored would be dipped and dyed in each color. Sometimes we had lovely shades of brown, but other years, we would stumble upon the right dipping order to create something really beautiful. The girls were able to accomplish that this year and the tradition continues. The other tradition I remember as a girl is always getting a new Easter dress to wear to church. This year, the girls dresses will have to wait until later this summer as the weather here required long sleeves and thick tights!
Although many with better willpower than I have given up their Easter candy favorites from childhood, I'm betting we all remember that one treat or tradition that created an imprint on our sweet tooth or our hearts.
If you celebrate Easter or Passover at this time of year (or another holiday that isn't coming to mind at the moment) what traditions have you carried from your childhood into your home? And, just to satisfy my curiosity--what candy are you stashing away in the high cupboards for enjoyment later?
