Empty Seat Peeptini

Easter is my jam. 

For the past 15 years, I've hosted a traditional Easter dinner after celebrating 40 days of Lent. It's the best of all the holidays: Fat Tuesday gluttony on one end. Chocolate bunnies and jelly beans on the other. It's my Spring Equinox. The day I say goodbye to winter and hello to the rebirth of green. 

History of the event: A gal pal and I adopted an idea from a Huge Heffner thing during the height of the Girls Next Door reality show. There was a punch and we adopted the recipe. I had just bought the Thomas cottage and was looking for traditions to celebrate friendship.  In my experience, Easter is the friend's holiday. Since it's on a Sunday, people are less likely to have "family obligations." Peeptini was born. 

Traditional dinner: Ham, crockpot scalloped potatoes, green bean casserole, potato buns and the precious punch: Peeptini. It's family style. Everyone seated at the table with place cards  Some years 10 people attend. Some years 20 people feast. Midwest spring chills are pushed to the side as we enjoy the sunshine together. I told a bestie I was going to have a baby at Peeptini. My youngest daughter was born at the start of April so her birthday and Peeptini have been merged. Plastic eggs with coins, and chocolates, and lottery tickets dot the yard with coordinating sand pails. I imagine my kids bringing their college buddies to Peeptini. I've had an array of people at the table. Some are still around. Some moved away. Some have passed away. It's a holiday that has grown from a single party girl event to a bring the family festival. The Thomas cottage become a landmark because of Peeptini and even though I took the celebration with me to my married house, celebrating it at the Thomas cottage is my happy place. 

Que 2020: I feel alone and a bit of loneliness. The extra leaf is not in the dining room table. 

My punch bowl is dry. 

When I declared "In this house" as my 2020 mantra, I never conceived of a international pandemic. And I didn't think that my most favorite holiday would be literally just the people in my house. 

What did I learn? I have a good family. And I love this unit of 4. And I am still cooking the dinner. And I am offering takeout to a handful of people. And this too will pass. And this year is now part of the fabric of our memories. And in this house we do celebration.

What did I do? I called my buddy Matt and talked about the memories of the event including the annual tradition where we argue the Peeptini recipe since I refuse to write it down. I got the fixings for the menu. I gathered the ingredients to make some single Peeptini servings. I made eggs and easter baskets for the big hunt. I set up a zoom meeting to toast the day. And I enjoy this house and the life we live in it.