So another holiday weekend has come and gone. While Easter isn’t quite as significantly celebrated as Christmas, most people within reasonable proximity spend the day or even weekend with family. For me, Easter was always a holiday spent together. As a child we had a simple egg hunt before or after church, just the four of us, with a special meal in the afternoon. In my early teen years the Easter weekend was marked by a youth group convention at the War Memorial. Thousands of teens from churches similar to mine gathered from around the state for a three day convention leading up to Easter, which was then usually spent as a day of rest, recovering from the late nights and busy days. In recent years, Easter has been inconsistent. Some years with my family, other with us scattered in different places.
Last year I was with my family in Boston. This year I was at work.
I went into the weekend frustrated, irritated to be at work for a holiday I value. No church, no family, no Holiday pay. What a waste. My only comfort was my girls. My girls at work who I love dearly that would also be away from their families, spending the day with me and our patients.
As I drove home from work today I had a smile stretched across my face recalling the events of the day and even the day prior. The weekend involved everything a good family function should. There was irritation that we had to be there, there was tension between the family, differing opinions in what should be done, when and how. There was comradery in the shared suffering and the shared disdain of members of the family pushing the wrong buttons at any given moment. There was singing, and dancing. There was laughter, so much laughter. In fact, I can honestly say that my stomach is a bit sore from the serious belly laughter. I can’t tell you what we laughed about, because like a family, some of those things are private, and others just wouldn’t make sense to people on the outside.
Either way, the point is, that while my mom and Nana are in Florida, my brother and sister in law are in Boston, my Stoner family is spread from Massachusetts to Florida, and my dad had just returned from a trip to Adirondacks, I still spent the holiday with family. The whole weekend I was with my girls who have become another family for me. When you do what we do, see what we do, share the moments we witness or are involved in together, there is no choice but to become a family. But yet again, I got dealt a killer hand in the family department. I am so lucky for that. In just over a year, this group of crazy, loud, hysterical girls has become so special to me. We were busy, which is what we do best, but we worked together and still found time to fit in killer renditions of classic ballads, a disgusting amount of Easter candy, 5lbs of potatoes with 4lbs of ham in a cream and cheese sauce, a pan of buffalo wing dip… I would go on but this is making me nauseous.
I have a busy week ahead with changes on the horizon, excitement and anticipation about the coming months. But for right now, I am taking a moment to be grateful for a few things;
-For a Savior that died for me. For the faith in this I have had that has helped me before and will again.
– For a weekend with family and friends that bring me so much joy. (Seriously, these girls are awesome, I wish you all could meet them, or see us in action)
-For a body that is healthy- CrossFit first thing tomorrow morning.
-For four days without decongestants, Afrin, Antiobiotics, or nasal spray. I am finally on the mend.
I hope each and every one of you had an equally enjoyable Easter.
According to Kateri 
kateri, i am so relieved and confident knowing you and your girls are there for all those babes and their distressed family members….even tho that meant you were there at GCH instead of with your “real” family!