Happy Easter!

I have completed several quiz things on Facebook recently and they often ask about your favorite holiday. I don't think I ever realized how much I enjoy Easter. It comes during my favorite season-spring. Growing up Catholic, Easter was always very important to us. There was always a new outfit and more heavy duty gifts than most of my friends received. This is me at probably about age 4 or 5 with my big Easter basket. Part of the Easter outfit also always included a hat. In this picture I look exactly like a child-size version of my Grandma Breene.

This was one of my favorite Easters. My "springcoat" (always said as though one word) was very light weight blue wool with velveteen collar and cuffs that I liked to stroke during Mass. My great-aunt Gerri and cousin Judy are the others in the picture. Judy was exactly 6 years older than me. I thought she was incredibly beautiful and she indeed was incredibly intelligent. My aunt made the suit she is wearing, special for Easter that year. I was always extremely impressed when anyone did home sewing as our own mother didn't do it. We must have had a very early Easter as the maple trees don't even appear in bud. I also loved that royal blue Chevrolet sitting in front of the house. It had big bench seats, that space behind the back seat where children of my generation liked to lay and look out the back window, and that big hump running down the center where we could stand gripping on to the front seatback when we went around sharp corners.

This is the year of the navy blue faille duster. My mom loved this garment and couldn't seem to get enough of me wearing it. I hated it, hated its three quarter sleeves, its 2 big buttons and its full cut. Looking at it now, I can see why my mom liked it so much- I do, too. My dad is wearing one of his beloved corduroy sports jackets. Wonder if everyone was wearing a tie that short. I think Dad was beginning a beard for our town's centennial celebration. My little sister Mona has a perm which was highly unusual for her and never stayed in very long. Neither of us look too happy.

I am in fifth grade in this picture. This was the first time my mom ever let me have a skirt and blouse. The skirt was navy blue pleats and I absolutely loved it. Did not love the hat that made big grooves in the sides of my head. During mass I would have to hold the hat away from alternate sides of my head and massage these indentations. I thought Catholic girls were meant to suffer. These are the simple joys of childhood.