Going Home for Easter

Going home for Easter Sunday this year was a bit different for me. The day started as usual with Mass. After that, we visited my grandfather's grave in the local cemetery, which we've been doing every holiday since his passing. At this point we deviated from what I we used to do when I was younger. We used to travel an hour to Ludlow, MA to visit my grandmother's sister and her family, on my dad's side. It was enjoyable. We ate traditional Polish food and the past few times, had an Easter Egg hunt with her granddaughter. This year, however, we stayed closer to home, having an early dinner at my other grandparents' house.

This was very strange for me. I grew up doing one thing and now that I have grown up, a family tradition has changed. Family traditions come and go, but religious ones seem to be going more than coming these days. I know it may not be true for all families, but it is with mine and in others I have seen. This hits me especially hard being here at college while all this is going on.

This goes back to our discussion at the beginning of the semester when we talked about traditions that we each have. I believe that as we grow older, some of those traditions have to change and others may disappear entirely. But when we strike out on our own and have a family that we need to care for, some of those old traditions will come back in our households and will become a reminder to us of how we were raised.