New Easter Traditions After a Season of Loss

In the wake of the saddest moments come unexpected joys

I don’t usually cry about it. My mother-in-law passed away late last summer from Covid. And while that was a horrific and traumatic loss, one that I witnessed firsthand while trying to facilitate her care from afar alongside my husband, Kyle, and his sister, Stefanie, I typically try to remove myself emotionally.

After all, Kyle and Stefanie are the real victims of this loss. It was their mom, not mine. My mom is ten years older than Susan would’ve been and just got a puppy, whereas we’ve adopted Susan’s dog, Nya. It isn’t fair. Any of it. So I try to keep my own feelings at bay.

But today, I cried. I cried while snuggling with the two younger kids, reading them “How to Catch the Easter Bunny.” Easter is the time I most associate with Susan. Before marrying Kyle, my second husband, I’d never really celebrated Easter. But his mom made Easter feel like the biggest, most amazing extravaganza, just by doing little, special things. She would personalize baskets or sandcastle buckets with my kids’ names and stuff them with thoughtful gifts. She would lovingly affix stickers aligned with their ever-changing interests.

She’d send us candy, Peeps, chocolate bunnies, egg-dyeing kits. Many times, we’d spend the…