Easter is just three days away! This not only means the end of lent and a massive overload of chocolate for me, but lots of family and church as well.

Even though my brothers and I are long past believing in the Easter Bunny, my mom still makes us search for our Easter basket that is hidden somewhere in the house on Sunday morning. When we were younger, we woke up as early as possible in order to achieve the glory of the being the first one to find our Easter basket. Now, however, it is a struggle for my mom to get us out of bed early enough so that we still have time to find our baskets and get ready for church.

So, after we find our Easter baskets and eat more than our fair share of chocolate and candy, we go to Easter mass. After mass my dad prepares a big Easter brunch while us kids change out of our church clothes and get ready to go to Grandma’s house.

All of my cousins, aunts and uncles on my mom’s side of the family will be at Grandma’s house. We spend the day talking, playing games and eating. At some point during the day, the adults and some of us older cousins put on an Easter egg hunt for some of the younger cousins. We fill fake Easter eggs with anything from little chocolates, to dimes and nickels (which they love). After stuffing ourselves once again during dinner at Grandma’s, we head home for a much needed sleep.

My family’s Easter traditions are nothing speculator or abnormal, but they are special to me all the same. Loyola gives  students a long weekend so that we have more time to spend at home for the holiday. I am looking forward to a long, relaxing weekend at home spent with family and good food!