Just the Tonic I Needed

This blog is beginning to feel like  Tom Mix serial.

"When last we left MomQueenBee, she was in dire need of a mouthful of sour grass, which her aunt helpfully pointed out probably had been sprayed with some kind of dire pesticide, and IN SPITE OF THAT WARNING, MomQueenBee was down-in-the-dumps enough to gaze longingly at the potential fodder outside the window. Will she break down and graze? Will she continue to be cranky and mopey, possibly forever? Tune in next time...."

Well, people, I've discovered a cure for what ails me. It's called Easter Weekend.

There are, of course, the spiritual implications of the event. As I mentioned on my Facebook page, "He is risen." "He is risen, indeed." is, hands-down, the greatest call-and-response since creation began, and I said it dozens of times yesterday.

But there were all kinds of restoration going on besides the spiritual.

I took a blurry, over-saturated picture of the dinner that followed church Sunday. The food wasn't bad--it was the usual Easter fare of ham, roasted asparagus (for spring), spinach-and-strawberry tossed salad (for health), and homemade rolls (because homemade rolls). Those are served with a full helping of tradition--green rice made from my mother's recipe, Fiesta dinnerware that had belonged to my grandmother, amber water goblets that were a gift from Husband's mother.

The best part of the meal, though, isn't visible in the picture. Out of frame to the right are dear friends who shared the food and laughter, and out of frame to the left are two Boys. At the far end of the table, with his arms folded, is Husband.

I am sometimes a little concerned about how smoothly I have made the transition to the empty nest--does this mean maybe I wasn't a very good mother? With the Boys seemingly settled in the right places and surrounded by the right people, this has morphed into a comfortable phase of life--shouldn't I be suffering more?

However, I've discovered that the run-up to holidays tends to be difficult. My subconscious seems to recognize that there is something missing, someones missing. I'm just slightly out of sync before Christmas and Easter, a little self-accusatory, a little absent-minded. (Thanksgiving, of course, is a different matter, with Best Day of the Year festivities going on.)

My life needs family and friends and shared food, and the restoration of balance between the mundane and the sacred.

This weekend had all of these. It was just the spring tonic I needed.