Easter

John and I had a nice Easter that began with sunrise service at Ocean Avenue in Melbourne Beach followed by the annual brunch get-together at the Spinos house. Every year we speculate on whether or not the brunch is going to happen...as everyone is getting older and it is quite an undertaking. But the party went on and we had a great time as usual. Let me start at the beginning.....

Last year we opted to go to Holy Name's mass because the priest from Immaculate Conception who does the mass in MB has many health issues, including problems with his eyesight. For several years now...he has used the same sermon every Easter.(he has it memorized and typed up in very large print just in case) I know he has issues...but it just bugged me that he couldn't come up with a new sermon! Well....we went to a different mass last year and it was nice...but there's something about going to MB, where the usual crowd is, and this year we decided to go back. Well...when it came time for the sermon...I could almost quote lines "as the sun rises over the beautiful Atlantic ocean......." and so on...but it really was nice this year. Father Nolan's voice sounded strong and though the message never varies...it is a good one...so I guess I can live with it! Now...the mass at the beach is a bit like live TV....you never know for sure what is going to happen...no matter how carefully you have planned it...and this year was no exception. Sometimes it might be a loud bird in the nearby tree, or pesky wind, or the altar boy leaning too far back and falling onto the dune and then crawling back up to the platform that keeps troublemakers like me laughing no matter how hard I try to stay focused and serious! Well,this year did not dissappoint!

This year we had the random beach goer who ascended the stairs and realized he was walking right into the crowd assembled for the mass that had just started.(you could almost hear him thinking "oh no") As a coincidence the guy had shoulder length brown hair and a beard (no kidding!) I'm telling you if he'd been wearing a robe I would've sworn he was playing the part of Jesus in a live reenactment. As it was he was wearing a pair of blue baggies as he strolled through the crowd to his car? John and I looked at each other and chuckled. I was feeling a little guilty...but spotted some friends in the crowd who were obviously thinking the same thing judging by the grins on their faces. Other than that distraction...it really was a nice mass...and I was glad we were there.

Afterwards we headed over to meet up with the group. All the old familiar faces were there....the Spinos and all their children, Mr. and Mr. Hogg, Stephanie and family, Kevin and his daughter,Mrs. Madden and some of her kids and grand kids, The Fiores, Strahles, Eckhoffs, etc. It was so nice to be around all these people who have known me all these years...it was like being with my Mom and Dad again. Telling stories, etc like you do when you get together with old friends. As it turns out...Mrs. Spino was diagnosed with colon cancer late last year and has been going through some grueling chemo. She has been pretty sick, so there was some doubt as to whether or not the gathering was going to take place this year. After a couple of weeks break from the chemo, she was feeling better and even though the Dr. advised against it...she wanted to have the party. All her children were there to help (she is 83? Mr. Spino a year or two older)

and they all decided to go for it. It was a wonderful morning and Hank told John that even though they had worried about going ahead with it...seeing their mother so happy and enjoying herself with all the friends and family, they felt they had definitely made the right choice. Knowing this made the celebration a little bittersweet ,but also that much more special... It was

an opportunity to make the most of what time we do have. You could look at each family and find some challenge they were going through, but for this day...it was a celebration of family, friends and faith.

(as I'm typing this I am listening to music...guess what's playing...Dave Matthews ...

"Celebrate we will........"