GEM CITY FAMILY: Easter, according to a mother

Somewhere along the way, the Easter Bunny also got wildly out of hand. When I was a kid, the bunny brought a basket with some grass, a chocolate bunny, and maybe a pack of jellybeans that tasted vaguely like perfume.

Now this rabbit apparently has a credit card and access to two-day shipping.

Parents are building baskets that include electronics, brand-name gear, and curated experiences. Meanwhile, I’m in Dollar Tree trying to decide if off-brand marshmallow chicks will emotionally damage my child.

Then comes the egg hunt.

Every year, I tell myself I’ll keep it simple. And every year, I hide so many eggs it feels like I’m preparing for a competitive event. We have one child. Why am I hiding 147 eggs?

Some are in obvious places. Others are hidden so well that even I can’t find them later, which means in a couple weeks we’ll be tracking down the source of a mysterious smell. There is always one egg no one finds.

Of course, before we even get to that point, we have to dye the eggs, which sounds wholesome in theory. In reality, egg dyeing is less of an activity and more of a full-contact sport.

You start off optimistic. You lay down paper towels. You carefully drop dye tablets into cups like a person who still believes in order. You hand your child a perfectly clean, white egg and think, this will be a lovely memory. Five minutes later, every surface in your home is a color not found in nature.

Your child has somehow dipped their entire hand into the blue dye and is now proudly presenting it to you like a badge of honor. Where is the wire dipper? The one tool designed specifically for this task? No one uses the dipper. The dipper is decorative. It exists solely to trick parents into believing this will be a calm, tidy activity.

It will not.

Then comes the candy portion of the program.

Easter introduces children to excess in a truly impressive way. At some point, your child is sitting in front of a pile of candy that could sustain a small village asking, “Can I have one more?”

And despite everything in you saying no… the answer is usually yes.

But somewhere in the middle of the chaos, there’s a moment. It’s quiet and your child is sitting there, maybe sorting their candy or talking about the egg they almost didn’t find and they’re happy. Not because everything was perfect, but because it felt magical.

That’s the thing about Easter. It isn’t about getting it right. It’s about showing up and doing your best to create something your kids will remember.

Even if what they remember most is the year you forgot where you hid half the eggs and had to air out the house for a week.

If hiding 147 eggs at midnight isn’t your thing, good news: Dayton has you covered. Community egg hunts are everywhere this time of year and Alex Cutler has compiled a list for you at Daytondailynews.com.