Easter

Easter was hard. It was the eleventh anniversary of the attack on Robin that resulted in her death three days later. I want to move beyond recognizing the anniversary dates of tragic events, but I'm not there yet. I tried in clumsy ways: drinking too much wine and then dropping and breaking the glass candy dish Bernice had given me as a birthday gift. Maybe next year will be better.

Saturday afternoon, I fell into panic mode, realizing I had planned nothing to celebrate the day with the boys. So, I rushed out to the candy store and got them each an Easter basket. That helped a little bit.

We gathered with the Maples clan Sunday noon for dinner. As always, Julia had a nice meal -- for me the highlight was the fresh asparagus from her garden. Prepared with prosciutto and Parmesan cheese, it was divine, darling. This is the third year for her asparagus and it's now yielding enough to serve at a family dinner. Wait till next year! We celebrated March and April birthdays of me, Nick, and Alicia. Alicia's ten-month old twins, Isaiah and Xavier, who are living with her in Buffalo, made their first appearance at a family event. In the picture, great-grandma Julia holds Isaiah (I hope I got the right name attached to the right baby). They appear to be thriving.