test of faith

today was the big easter egg hunt on the playground. go to charles' blog for a pic of the Easter bags. eight families including ours, has set up to participate, and anally retentive tess had organised the event, from the egg hunt to the pizza and sausage sizzler party afterwards.

unfortunately, although on TUESDAY the weather report was predicting fine things for SATURDAY, this morning we woke up and i knew sunny skies were not to be ours.

why isn't the sky bright? asked an inquisitive child.

because it is cloudy, replied a sibling.

sebastian looked up, worried, "it is not going to rain for the easter egg hunt on the playground is it mummy?" he doesn't say mumm-eh anymore.

we prayed about it, and i told them that was the best we could do. instead we played games and puzzles, and then at 10am we decorated sheets of paper for the easter egg hunt. the skies got a little brighter, and we were happy.

at 1.30 i got a call from my friend jennifer. "is it still on?" she inquired. "it is very wet here." she was calling from the club.

"well, it is just drizzling here," i said. "if i cancel it, i will let you know."

i talked to andrea who was wtih her family on kowloon side. she was wondering the status quo. i said that if it kept up like this, there would be nothing. she said fair enough and suggested sunday as the alternative. i agrreed./

at 2.30, it was sheeting down, so i sent out an email saying that with such filthy weather, there would be no picnic, but if the rain ceased, the hunt would commence. if the rain and fog were still happening, we would postpone it, and i suggested a date.

three people called and said they wouldnb't be able to attend the postponed date.

charles took the kids out, they were having a crisis of faith. "but we prayed the rain would stop!":

at 2.45 the rain started in earnest and just came sheeting down. it was vile. and it seemed obvious, there would be no easter egg hunt. fair enough.

at 3.30 i spoke with tara who said, whatever you decide is fine. and it was still raining.

at 3.45 tara called again. "is it on? its not raining anymore!"

at 3.50 i got another call from another person. "is it on?"

at 3.51 i sent out an email saying, as of right now, it is on.

and then i called charles...and he didn't answer. where was he? where were my kids? they needed to be back for the easter egg hunt? i called andrea...its on! but they were sitting down for tea and wouldn't be able to come. i think i had pretty much said it was cancelled. i invited her up for pizza anyway. i felt really badly at this point, and HATED BEING IN CHARGE. was it my fault they were going to miss the hunt? and where was my fricking family anyway?

at 4.20, i sent out the official ITS ON email.

kids started coming with their mums to my flat, while the dads congregated downstairs planting eggs. the kids were thrilled. the mums shocked that i was even considering going ahead without my kids. we have to wait! cried susan and tara.

and so we waited, until around 5pm.

by the time my children arrived, the fathers (and one lovely mum) on the playground were soaking, because it had started to rain again. oh yes it had. sheeting down. but the kids didn't care. they went racing off and collected eggs like there was no tomorrow. some kids did really well...as i mentioned last year, none of my kids seem to have the desire for chocolate that extends past whinging and begging to what really counts in an easter egg hunt, racing and running and searching and foraging. kids had raindrops dripping off their noses and were clutching wet bags and having a great time. i was feeling guilt about andrea and her kids and realisng that this was the easter egg hunt we are probably always going to remember. the one in the rain.

when the last egg had been found, we all dried off, and then most of the families came back to ours for dinner. we ordered the pizza, people brought wine, delia smith's risotto, a pumpkin quiche, chippies, long yogurt, meatballs, and i had made a salad. it was so divine. the pizza arrived quickly and it was a good time. the kids were really well behaved, no one cried, and it was a fun evening.

the kids, when getting to bed late, commented, "we prayed to God that it would stop raining and it didn't".

and i said, "well it did, but we were late. and then when it did rain, we realised we could still have the easter egg hunt so we were lucky."

sebastian said, "God knew we could do it."

yes, he did, and although i still feel guilty that andrea and her family weren't there, i think this might be the easter egg hunt i remember, the one in the rain and the madness. the show must go on. and it did and it was wet and hilarious and bags were breaking in the rain and the stamping around in the wellie boots and the kids loved it.

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One of the benefits of life in the Arctic is that Easter Egg hunts have to be conducted indoors because it is -20 outside and hard to find eggs buried in the snow.Maybe it is time to move.
Love to all....Dad

Posted by: Dad aka Grandad Blake | March 23, 2008 at 12:12 AM