Letting go of a tradition is a little tough

Ultimately, the day isn’t about eggs - and the bigger picture is truly what matters

This year, we took an unusual step in our family, and decided not to decorate Easter eggs. I have mixed emotions about it. Part of me loves the tradition. I enjoy the process, and every year, we’ve tried different techniques to see what we could come up with.

One year, we mixed the food coloring in little containers of shaving cream for a cool marbled effect … although I wasn’t convinced those were still edible when we were done.

Another year, we added food coloring to rice, and then swirled the eggs in for an interesting speckled look.

We’ve used food-grade markers, crayons … you name it, we’ve tried it.

It turns out, eggs make an interesting canvas, and I’ve loved experimenting with my kid along the way.

But then there’s the more practical part of me that is glad to see the tradition go.

The Easter bunny generally visits my house some time in the midnight-2 a.m. hour, because our child has always been an early riser.

That means those eggs were sitting out for at least four hours before they were found. And then, in the excitement of Easter Sunday, those eggs might sit out longer, because a very distracted, tired mom (me) would forget to stick them in the fridge.

And at that point, it just seems unsafe to eat them. Once in a while, the Easter bunny would put out plastic eggs instead, but that’s just not the same. And the reality is, my little family of three does not go through a dozen hard-boiled eggs fast enough, so even when I was extra careful not to be wasteful, I inevitably still threw out a couple of eggs each year.

So this year, we’re going eggless. The Easter bunny will still bring a small basket to a certain teenager in our home, with a small dark chocolate bunny and some jelly beans.

And of course, we’ll still spend the day together and honor the occasion, which is ultimately the part that matters the most.

As strange as it is to not honor that egg tradition, it’s time to make new ones – and I’m sure the Easter bunny has a few ideas up her sleeve!

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