Easter

Garza kids (missing- Holly, Ava, Alexa, and Josh)
Photo credit: Uncle Mike's iPhone

When I was a kid, my favorite part of Easter was the Garza family party. I loved getting to hang out all day with my cousins, and eating all the good food, and beating up on my cousin Dillon. Every holiday with the Dad's side was a blast because there was a bunch of little kids there my age. On Easter though, there was one event  that we looked forward to every year- the Easter egg hunt. When I was little, hunting for Easter eggs was like playing gold rush. You stand there at the front, feet itching to run, and your heart racing till they yelled go and we could start tearing through the yard looking for those eggs. There were always the obvious ones, but there were always a few that were sneaky, and usually one, that was so high, you always needed an uncle to lift you up to get it. I don't mean to be rude, but I always kicked my cousin's butt at this. This was MY game, and I rocked at it. lol. 

This year, the older cousins got to fill all the eggs and hide them for the Easter egg hunt. We were having so much fun, and I found the prettiest egg in the bunch, and hid it up on the windowsill of  the garage, so terribly excited to watch all the little ones go crazy hunting for their eggs. When the time came for the hunt, the little ones were the CALMEST I think I have ever seen them! There was no pushing and shoving over the eggs, no one got trampled or hurt. They happily kept to them self collecting their eggs and having fun. It definitely wasn't the all out war I remember it to be, but then again when we were little, we beat each other up and called it "fight-club" and thought it was fun. In the end it was the adults that  started throwing hard candy at each other and acting immature....guess we had to offset the proper behavior of the kids. lol. 

One thing stayed true to tradition though, that pretty little egg on the windowsill was spotted by a little shrimp in need of a boost. That little shrimp was my oldest nephew Connor, and that sweet heart looked up at me and asked for help. In that moment life changed for me. I went from being the shrimp needing a boost, to being the Aunt ready to help in what felt like a matter of seconds. Some how going through college, and getting ready to graduate didn't make me feel special or needed or like an adult. Yet, the chance to help my nephew changed my world, and I can't explain that feel good moment I got to experience when I lifted him up and saw the excitement on his face. I've started to get excited about this next stage in my life lately, but nothing has solidified it like this before, I can't wait to have more moments like this, and to start experiencing things from this side...aka adulthood.