By Jeremy D. Wells
Carter County Times
On Easter Sunday our boy had his first real Easter egg hunt. At three years old, he has been too young to realize just how much he has missed out on as a pandemic baby – the virus and associated quarantines and restrictions hit just before his first birthday – but daddy has been painfully aware.
While we still aren’t 100 percent in the clear with COVID-19, and the risk of another surge is always in the back of my mind, I really appreciate how much things are getting back to normal.
Not only did he get to participate in his first Easter egg hunt this year, but it also came just a week after the first birthday where we’ve felt it was safe enough for everyone involved to have guests over.
It was a very big day for him. He got to visit with both his nanny and his papaw. He got to see three of his aunts and a cousin. He received way more presents than any child has a right to. And he played, and sang, and danced, and generally had a grand time until he just couldn’t hold out any longer and collapsed into a deep – and much needed – nap.
We still having a giant Mickey Mouse mylar balloon, and a trio of birthday cake balloons, floating around the living room and office.
But the biggest deal for him might have been meeting the Easter Bunny.
We took him down to the Olive Hill Chamber of Commerce sponsored Easter at the Depot event on Saturday and, while he was too nervous at first to sit in the Easter Bunny’s lap, after a while he came around. As we checked out the other events he would glance back at the Easter Bunny (Dalton Conley) and wave, a grin spreading from ear-to-ear. A few times he taunted the bunny with a “nah nah-nah nah nah,” trying to get him to chase him – a favorite toddler game around our house.
He danced with the band, picked out a book from the school resource center table, ate apples and candy, and generally had a grand time.
By the time we headed out to our egg hunt on Easter Sunday, he and the Easter Bunny were old pals. When he saw him this time, he waved and called to him by name, “Hi, Easter Bunny!”
There was no trepidation, and no problem getting a good photo with the bunny.
In fact, he was so excited by the whole event that he would forget he was supposed to pick up eggs, running past several before remembering what we were there for, snatching one up, then hustling to keep up with the throng of other children sprinting across the field.
He really didn’t know what he was missing until now, and honestly neither did I. But I’m glad that we can experience it now. And I’m grateful to the good folks in our communities who put on the various holiday events that our little boy now gets to take part in.
We see you, and we appreciate you, and we thank you for making our little man’s – and every child’s – holiday special.
Contact the writer at editor@cartercountytimes.com
