Time flies

Hey, wasn’t it just Christmas? Did you get your Christmas lights taken down in time for Easter? We did, but just barely. Hope we didn’t put them too far away. The way time gets away from me these days, we’ll be having to fish them out again any minute now.

Did anyone ever invent the changeable decorative light string I thought of years ago, where one string of lights sufficed for all holidays? All red for Valentine’s Day, green for St. Patrick’s Day, pastels for Easter, patriotic red, white and blue to encompass the summer biggies of Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day, orange for Halloween and Thanksgiving, and the bright multicolors of Christmas? Hang ’em once and forget it. And there’s always the side benefit of annoying your neighbors year-round. But let’s be nice. No inflatables. That’s going too far.

So here we are. Easter. And me without an Easter bonnet, once again. They still haven’t returned to fashion, huh? Can we at least leave the jeans and message T-shirt at home for one day? I’m of an age that I remember (yeah, here we go again!) little girls in shiny new patent leather Mary Janes, with lacy socks inching their way down under the heels of a 5-year-old. Their brothers in miniature men’s suits, their hair all slicked back. “Bring your Easter baskets out on the front porch so Grandpa can get your picture, then you can have one marshmallow Peep before church. No, you can’t have the chocolate bunny right now. You don’t want to get chocolate on your new dress. Now hurry up, get in the car, we’re going to be late!” How many times have you either heard or uttered those very words sometime in your life? It’s tradition, right?

The small congregation in my local church has finally, after several years without, been blessed with a couple of young families with small children. I am so looking forward, like any old grandmother worth her salt, to seeing the little ones all decked out in their Easter best.

What the heck, I just might take my Kohl’s gift card and go buy myself something new that isn’t black for a change. This is spring, after all, isn’t it? A time for new beginnings. Something pastel, perhaps? Shall I add in a new pair of shoes that aren’t Skechers? Now I’m thinking about a hat. And now I’m not. That’s pushing it.

But I do remember women’s hats that weren’t red, as in the Red Hat Ladies gang. My mother’s favorite springtime hat was yellow with little yellow flowers that dangled down one side of her face. I remember Freedlander’s and Ziegler’s hat departments. Yes, I am every bit that old. And while I’m at it, I remember when men wore hats. Fedoras. Hats that weren’t baseball caps. That was back when the only men who wore baseball caps were actual baseball players. Watch some classic movies. Yes, people actually wore outfits like that. For what it’s worth, I was very young, of the age of the lace-trimmed socks that slipped down into my shoes.

But now I’m a little older. The days of wearing high heels and tight skirts are long gone. I’m talking comfort. I don’t want my clothes and shoes to hurt me. But I also don’t want people to look at me and point and mutter. Maybe I should have my granddaughter go shopping with me. On the other hand, my daughter, who’s more in the middle of our age range, could help me find something “suitable” or “appropriate,” yet fashionable. And then we’ll go have lunch. My treat. Shopping can be so stressful.

Whatever you wear, have a lovely Easter. And save me a Peep.