Easter in lockdown

Easter is a four-day holiday in Switzerland, three-days in France.

Most years for decades I would go to Argelès-sur-mer (ASM) on the break.

Even before I moved to Europe, I would try and go.

There was the year my stepmom, Llara and I flew from Boston. We heard the Easter carolers in native costumes as they walked by our house. 

My Catholic mother was moved almost to tears by the Easter service where the statues left the church and did their own dances. Her joy became mine. It was another in a long list of good memories I have of my stepmom.

After I moved to Europe, there was the year Llara and her university friend came down from Mannheim, Germany where they were students. My French daughter came from Toulouse and we joined my friend Barbara from Boston who now lived in ASM full time for a four-day, five-decade in age female slumber party filled with good food, laughter and sharing on so many levels. This was a never to be duplicated memory in my treasure chest of memories.

Most years now our Brit friends, P&P, Carol and Tony, Daphne and Roy show up as well as Irish Angela and Egyptian Mohamed, Irish Pamela and Adrian arrive along with Danish friends Ingolf and Kikka to name a few. It is like a mini reunion of summer people before summer.

Almost every year we've shared Easter dinner be a formal gathering at my place or at Jackie and Pierre-Bernard's, our Swiss friends who have a summer home on our street and who we've lovingly called the Sandwich because of their initials PB&J. There have been years that Easter dinner has been a picnic next to a lake. We've played games and had a chocolate egg hunt. One year I served colored deviled eggs.

The important part was being together as each year a new memory was built on the old ones.. 

We were lucky enough to spend the day with the Sandwich and to combine lunch and a tour of their city of Fribourg, Switzerland before coming to ASM.

This year there will be none of this. Lockdown is keeping us apart. 

They can't leave their countries, and if they could, the can't enter France. 

And although I wish it could be different, knowing they are safe and healthy is more important. There will be other times to create more memories.

I said to Rick, that I was thinking of roasting a leg of lamb, which is what I would have prepared for The Sandwich had the lockdown not happened. His enthusiasm was limited.

We decided to go to the butcher (allowed with the correct permission slips) early and buy what we felt like at the time.

Easter holds no religious significance for me, but I respect the traditions for those that it is important.

This year there will be Rick and I, no special friends, no hidden chocolate Easter eggs, which considering the dog is probably a good thing, no carolers, no church statues budging from their year-round posts. Even the meal will be more or less ordinary. 

But then again, any day with Rick has its own special meaning.  We are safe, warm, virus-free, surrounded by our creature comforts denied to many on this Easter weekend.

Maybe one of us can figure out how to make a rabbit costume.

Whoever reads this, Happy Easter.