Easter

I spent Easter weekend with my family in Wüstensachsen. I had a lovely time, but it was much too short. Friday was a relaxing day. I played with five year old Lennard until he went to a friend's birthday party up the street. Then Peter and Sonja and I sat outside, enjoying the hot sun on a perfect Spring day. I ate chocolate icecream, they drank green tea from China, and we nibbled on a lamb. Well, not a real one. At Easter, Germans make a sort of pound cake with powdered sugar on top in the shape of a lamb. This is in remembrance of Jesus, but it is also a tasty treat. That night, Lennard invited me to take part in his bathtime ritual. Once he was up to his neck in fluffy, white bubbles, we brought out the characters from "Finding Nemo." Although plastic, they came to life in our hands, meeting each other, swimming together in the ocean, and becoming friends. To our delight, these characters could gulp water and spit it back out with just a light squeeze of the belly. Lennard and I both giggled as we squirted each other, quickly filling and refilling our little playmates with water. At bedtime, Sonja read Lennard a story, and then we said our prayers. First, Sonja prayed while Lennard repeated. Then he got to add anything he wanted. A smile spread across my face as he began to thank God for me and my visit. Lastly, I prayed in English what Sonja had prayed in German. We all said goodnight, and a motherly warmth spread throughout my heart as I looked forward to repeating the scene with my own children some day. On Saturday, Peter and Sonja took me to nearby Fulda to shop. I had a great time buying gifts and souvenirs. We also saw the Dom there, which was really beautiful, coated floor to ceiling in white and gold. Randomly, we came across three people dressed as chickens. Head to toe, they were brown and feathered with big, yellow beaks. They were playing music and walking and pecking just like real chickens. It was hilarious! Later, in Wüstensachsen, we went up a mountain to the Wasserkuppe. There was a slide that started at the top of the mountain and continued down the hill like a ski slope. It is hard to describe, but it was as if the mountain was sticking out a bright, silver, tin tongue with both sides cupped upwards. And in the middle of that tongue-like track was a little cart that had a big, red stick shift, like something from a Nintendo controller. Forward meant go faster, and backward meant slow down. Knowing I would use the break too much as a first-timer, Peter and Lennard rode together on one track, while I drove on the one next to them. Although they beat me to the bottom of the hill, I laughed and squealed the entire way down, doing my best to throw caution to the wind. It reminded me of Water Wiz but with a flat black cart in place of a mat and of course minus the water. I bought some souvenirs, and we took a coffee break (hot chocolate for me) before heading back down the mountain. Sunday began with an Easter egg hunt. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the Easter Bunny had left me a basket full of chocolate goodies! After breakfast, we went to church, where I enjoyed a traditional Catholic service. We ate lunch at Rolf and Helga's house, where Helga served delicious pineapple chicken, salad, and two forms of potatoes-one shaped like little balls and one more like hashbrowns. After lunch, we all went up another mountain to Kreuzberg, where we met Sonja's sister, Beatrix, and her boyfriend Klaus. Kreuzberg is a place where monks make their own beer in a monastery. I bought souvenirs and gifts, and then we stopped by a cafe on the way home. That night we all went to dinner at an Italian restaurant where we ate pizza, pasta, and played the German version of Paper, Rock, Scissors with Lennard. The centerpiece was a lit candle, and since Lennard was like a moth to a flame, the game distracted him from lighting the table on fire! I relaly enjoyed having everyone together in one place. On Monday, also an Easter holiday here in Germany, Sonja cooked lunch. Traditionally, Beatrix, who is Lennard's godmother, brings a bundle of presents for her godson, and Sonja cooks her a meal. So we ate delectable green noodles with a salmon and cucumber sauce that was too yummy to resist seconds, which barely left room for dessert of vanilla icecream and chocolate mousse. Lennard played with his new shield that completed his knight ensemble, and Beatrix gave me a pretty necklace and bracelet! Sadly, it was then time to say goodbye. This was difficult to do, beacause I will not see them again soon. I held back tears as Rolf and Helga drove me to Fulda to catch my train. But once I settled into my reserved window seat on the comfortable ICE train, facing the vast, green countryside that I have come to cherish, I let go. I cried as the train pulled away from the German relatives I have come to know and love. At that moment, I made a promise to myself. I will be back. I do not know when or how, but I will be back!