Sadly, we have no Easter pictures this year. Daniel forgot to take his iPhone to church yesterday (where Sorin wore a funny Easter Bunny mask, tail, and buck teeth for the little kids). Maybe something in me resisted Easter this year; I'm not sure what it was. Sure, we colored eggs and suprised the kids with gifts from The Bunny, but I had a certain need to go more 'inward' for the holiday this year. There were no lavish plans, guests or activities. I talked to Sky a great deal about Jesus and what his life was about. We don't do that often because we follow the teachings of a line of Indian gurus and there is so much we already teach about their complex lives, however a picture of Christ is always on our family altar. I explained the significance of Easter to both Andrew and Sky, and all about Christ's life. By the end of the conversation Sky was awed. He kept saying "Mom, I think Jesus was a really super-cool guy!" and he expressed wanting to be just like Christ and our gurus. This is the part of Easter that matters most to me- that my kids understand the significance and meaning of the holiday, and don't just go through the superficial motions. In that sense, the holiday went beautifully.On another note, we have Amelie's hall drawer all ready upstairs. It a huge, deep drawer and it's filled with all her things. I revealed it to Andrew last evening and was surprised to see him almost in tears. He touched everything (blankets, dresses, toys, etc) and with a somber voice and watery eyes he said "I want to touch Amelie, Mom. I want to see her face and take care of her." He pulled away from the drawer and walked quickly to his room as if it was all too much for him. Small children, including the infant, Ceci, I take care of on weekdays, trigger a lot of old issues for him. He was raised in a sea of infants and toddlers, and he misses them dearly. At the same time they trigger negative memories & emotions. He approaches Ceci with caution...his heart opens, closes, opens and closes again around her. One day last week he opened up completely to her and all his grief washed out, crying about the babies and toddlers he cared for, missing and worrying about them in India. Amelie will be a catalyst for growth and healing in him, and I think they will be very, very close to each other. I can't help but smile about all the love and pampering she's going to receive from her two youngest brothers.
It's a new week of waiting, anticipating, on the edge of our seats for her picture. Will this be the week, or next, or the next?
2 comments:
How amazing and what a gift you are giving the kids! I think children who grow up with an appreciation and understanding of many different belief systems and religions are much richer for that knowledge. I'm Buddhist and Gregg's an ex-Catholic. We plan to raise Sam with a an understanding and appreciation of ALL world religions. Being Buddhist, I do believe that the man Jesus was very, very likely a reincarnation of the historical Buddha, so hold him up as a Bhodhisatvva. How precious that your children think "Jesus was a cool guy" ... I do too!!
I'm on the same page as you, Meg. Our guru was all about embracing every religion with sincerity and respect. He also taught that Christianity & Eastern religions are more similar than different. He wore a cross pendant because of his deep relationship w/ Christ. Our kids will know all about this. If more people taught the similarities, there would be far less dogma, less suffering, and less ignorance in the world.
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