Easter is comin'

When I was a little girl my Grandfather took my nail clippings, dug a hole next to the garage and planted them. He told me that if we watered it a hand would grow. Do you know that I checked every time I went there to see if the hand had grown yet. I'm not sure what story he told me once I picked up on the fact that the hand wasn't growing. I remember when we would go visit my grandparents on our first evening there Grandma would have made either fried chicken or spaghetti. That was always our first night meal. Also, my Grandfather would take me to Faye's Drugstore. I remember once he bought me Mexican jumping beans. Man, those beans were the shit. I lost my first tooth at their house. Biting into an apple I think. I remember cutting my finger pretty good while trying to cut a piece of watermelon - my mom was pissed! Also this is the first place I ever had bagels, and I loved them! I can remember where the candy and gum dish was also, in the back of the kitchen in the pantry in a small dish. Not much to choose from, but it was always there.

They lived in a duplex, sort of, in Ilion New York. They had a full 3 bedroom house and attached to the other side were like 2 apartments or something. This is where we celebrated Easter every year. My Aunt Pat and cousins Chris and Jodi would be there, and all of us from Ohio - my Dad (they were his parents), my Mom, my sisters and me (my brother wasn't born yet) and I think for most of those years my Mom's Mom would come out too (Grandma K). Man, those were great times. One year the "Easter bunny" hid an egg that wasn't found until the next year in one of the floor lamps. That was nasty! I can remember sitting in the front room where the organ was and that is where we slept. Easter was like Christmas back then. Seemed like an endless supply of candy in our baskets. And toys. We would wake up Easter morning astonished at the kitchen table and all of the baskets and all of the loot!

I miss those days. I miss my Grandparents. I miss the bump in the sidewalk down the street that you could jump your bike if you hit it fast enough. I miss Lee who lived next door and I kind of had a crush on him. Mostly I miss all of us being together. Holidays aren't the same anymore. I wish I was a kid again. I wish if I was a kid again I could appreciate those times.