Thursday, April 01, 2010

Slice of Lime-Strange Traditions

Some families have lovely sentimental traditions which bind the generations together. Other families eschew tradition altogether. Then there are those which observe some rather strange rituals year after year.

Case in point, my brother and I were not taught that there was such a thing as an Easter Bunny. Judging by the bananas we are holding it would seem the Easter Monkey came to visit us. I believe my brother is actually taking a call from him.



I know this next tradition may come as a surprise to you all because every picture I have ever posted of myself is one of restrained and quiet dignity but I have enjoyed making ugly faces at cameras since I was small. there's a shot in my mother's photo album from when I was 4. My parent's were celebrating something and wanted a nice family picture. I got very tired of sitting nicely and waited for the photographer to tell us, Say cheese!" At the moment the picture was taken I stopped smiling, stretched my face into a grimace with my fingers, and stuck out my tongue. The photographer suggested that when I was all grown up I'd regret ruining the picture. Either I have yet to grow up at the tender age of thirty-eleven or the photographer was just W-R-O-N-G because I still laugh when I look at that picture.

Anyway, my mother-in-law bought my kids their Easter clothes every year until about 3 years ago. She asked for a nice picture of them in the clothes in return. I always met her request but typically we'd take one or two nice shots then I'd let the kids act like lunatics for the rest of the roll (back in the film days). Here's one of my favorite years.




Here is last year. There was a certain lack of enthusiasm among some individuals for either smiling or grimacing last year. Ennui seems to be the new grimace.


Finally, here is a tradition that stretches back to the days when my great grandmother filled the baskets. We'd all get the standard basket fare of chocolate bunnies, jelly beans, malted milk ball eggs and.....decapitated marshmallow peeps. To this day my kids know better than to expect an intact marshmallow peep in their baskets.


15 comments:

Cricket said...

Wow. You're like Ozzy to those peeps, huh? Who knew? Don't feel bad. When my Mom, of all people, discovered what happens to a peep in the microwave she was unstoppable. She's unstoppable still. She'll do an entire package, one by one, and laugh herself sick.

Everyone is insane, once you really get to know them.

Jinksy said...

What's a marshmallow peep? Sorry to be a dumb Brit...
How would I recognise one if it were to peep at me?

Craig said...

LOL @ Cricket; now I really, really wanna find me some marshmallow bats somewhere. . .

Our family has also adopted a version of the 'goofy face' photo tradition, once we've fulfilled our obligation to send Grandma something 'nice' (altho, we usually only take one or two 'goofy' ones, not the rest of the roll; evidently y'all are a bit more hardcore in your goofiness than we are. . . ;) ) Maybe I should post a couple of those sometime. . .

Bijoux said...

That's weird on the peeps....my kids know how much I despise those, so I've never purchased them any! (Grandma gets some for them, don't worry).

The banana cracks me up!

lime said...

cricket, microwaved peeps are a ton of fun, especially when you let the use toothpicks as swords so the can duel.

jinksy, i added a link in the body if you'd like to check it but the are chick shaped and sugar coated marshmallows.

craig, why am i not at all shocked?

cocotte, peep smores are fun too ;)

S said...

Oh yeah! I remember that you eat the heads offa those peeps, you wierdo!

I noticed you are wearing your salwar in one of those pics! Yay!

Craver Vii said...

I see that your son is wearing a Calvin & Hobbes tie. Most excellent.

Ennui or Inuit?? You guys look like you're freezing.

I tried peep jousting in the microwave. Tearing the heads off is... well, disturbing. ;-)

Youtube has some funny peep videos

Cosima said...

... they lost their heads for a good cause. I am still undecided if I will hide little man's Easter eggs inside the house or outdoors. He has to be quick to find them outdoors, temperatures are going up.

secret agent woman said...

I finally decided to just start buying myself a chocolate Easter bunny so I would stop stealing bites form the kids' bunnies.

Logophile said...

ok, Peeps are nasty.
I wouldn't even want to bite their heads off
:p
Love the attitude of the tradition though, of course.

furiousBall said...

EASTER MONKEY!

I am going to make Abbe sew me a pair of those red/blue shorts.

Anonymous said...

restrained and quiet dignity????

all peeps must die...

~Tim said...

Those are some great family moments. I may need to borrow the Easter Monkey idea.

The Teacup Cottage said...

Hello Sweetie! I did see your Thursday post, but as usual I was feeding the baby when browsing blogs, so its hard to comment (The second that bottle leaves his lips the wailing begins! You'd think I was torturing him.)

Happy Easter, hope the Easter Monkey brought you something special!

Jocelyn said...

It tickles me no end that, in a photo of you and your kids, you're the truest child of all.