Easter - Fluffy Chicks, Chocolate Eggs and RUDOLPH the Red Nosed Reindeer??

Easter - and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer

Yesterday was Easter Day.  Imelda had nagged  for weeks that he wanted to see me and the kids at Church as it was a very important day etc etc.  I had planned on going anyway and taking the kids but the day before, my daughters (twin girls aged 9) had been invited on an impromptu sleepover at their friends house.

Getting them up from a sleepover and home to get ready for 9am was simply never going to happen so I went with my son who is 11.

I noticed Imelda had his smart suit on and a snazzy tie - a RUDOLPH the red nosed reindeer tie! On Easter Day!  I asked why he had a Rudolph tie on; he said he'd been looking for something summery and Easter like with a bit of yellow on it and he found that.  Granted Rudolph was surrounded by yellow stars as in a starry Christmas night, but on Easter day! Really?

He expressed his huge disappointment at me because I hadn't managed to bring the girls.  I explained the sleepover concept but it went straight over his head.  I explained I wasn't going to force anyone to go to Church if they didn't want to go or try to make them feel guilty for not going.
'Very disappointing,' he said.

He didn't speak to me at all after the service, we all filtered out and he disappeared.  After 15 minutes or so of me making idle chit-chat with the old ladies, I decided it was time to go.  As I got in the car and started the engine, Imelda appeared in the middle of the car park, making me stop the car and holding up everyone else trying to get out.  He'd come to express his extreme disappointment again at my inability to drag 2 nine year olds out of bed early on a Sunday morning after a sleepover in somebody else's house.  He mentioned that he may be  able to find us all 'a little something' if we could be bothered to come to visit him later on. I think he expected me to jump up and down with glee at this point. I didn't.

Imelda's idea of 'finding us a little something' does not fill me with the great thrills and expectations as he assumes it does.  If he does manage to come up with an egg it would surprise me if it were still in date and not one he lost in the hoard a few years back.  This year he says he has got the eggs for the annual egg hunt.  Good plan. Imelda has a great garden for an Easter egg hunt: although he usually hides three or four in the same square foot of garden so the kids find them too fast, but the thought is there.

Imelda rang me at 3pm to see when we were coming.  I told him I didn't know as the girls were still out at their friend's house and were apparently now watching a film.
'Most disappointing' he repeated - 'You know Christmas and Easter are the two most important days in the Church calender.' He said this as if he were giving me some explosive new information.
'Like I didn't know that' I said extremely sarcastically.  My sarcasm was lost on him.
'Well you SHOULD know.' he said 'Well we'll have to call off the egg hunt - I can't wait all day. I'm going to have an hour in the garden.' He clearly expected me to beg at this point. I didn't.
I hung up on him and screamed at the phone.  My son walked past 'Grandad on the phone mum? - Don't get stressed - here have a hug'.

~

Today is Easter Monday. Imelda rang. 'So are we going to see you today?'
'Yes Dad, I guess so - what time?'
'Straight after lunch would be good.'
'Ok we will be there about 12:30.'
'NO - not that early - 2:15 should be about right. Oh - one thing - the eggs... I - er - I thought I had bought the little eggs you know the ones with the foil on - but - er you see - when I got them out of the packet they are the sugar coated ones without foil you see.'
'riiiiiggghht'
'and so Ant and I have been wrapping them in tissue paper so they can go in the garden.'
I know he doesn't buy kitchen roll or tissues so I can only assume he means toilet tissue paper. I asked him if kitchen foil would not have been a better option.
'Oh - er yes I know we used to have some but I'm not sure if we have it now... but anyway we have stuck the tissue with glue you see so it will be perfectly fine.'

I will pre-warn the kids that they do not eat those eggs from Grandad's house.  Good job I had bought some foil wrapped mini eggs for just such an occasion.

Do I tell the kids the Easter Bunny did not have the budget for foil wrapped eggs?

We will wait and see...