Barbie Perkins-Cooper, Author

Dearest Readers:

This will be an extremely brief post on my blog due to issues — all due to the pollen — with my right eye. If I go outside without sunglasses, my right eye is kissed with pollen — turning beet red. So, since this will be brief, please allow me to get to the point of this blog.

Today, all around the world, is Easter. A day to celebrate, appreciate, and recognize this holiday is significant since it is all related to the passing of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Today, we celebrate in remembrance of the significance of Jesus Christ.

To all of my family and friends, I wish you a joyous celebration. We will celebrate with an Easter dinner with a few of our friends. I hope all of you are remembering and enjoying this Easter Sunday. Today in Charleston, the weather is a bit ‘iffy’ with gray clouds, much wind, and I am quite certain the pollen is ‘blowing in the wind.’

I am a bit pleased that we have plans with friends since my eye is so red — AGAIN! I suppose I will have to make an eye doctor’s appointment — only to be told — ‘your right eye is allergic to the pollen!’ What do you want to bet that will be the diagnosis?!???

On this day, Easter Sunday, I like to reflect on some of the good memories I have about Easter and my childhood. Normally, our Easter Sunday was spent with my maternal grandparents. The four girls in our family received Easter baskets from the Easter bunny, until we started questioning the “Easter bunny.” Nevertheless, every Easter Sunday, we received new Easter dresses from our grandparents. How I LOVED dressing up at Easter time. Dressing up in my ‘Sunday Best’ — as good ole Southern women would whisper — wearing nylons, or tights, a beautiful, brightly colored Easter dress, and new heels. I say heels because they were the only Easter shoes I EVER desired. Those of you who know me and the high heels I wear must understand — don’t you? I LOVE nylons and high heels!

On those special Easter Sundays of my youth, I recall the church we went to would have an Easter picnic at the fellowship hall. All of us ‘little ladies’ would prance around — or would it be — priss around — to show our Easter dresses off to all of the boys. I remember spinning around, and walking as if I had a book on my head! Such a prissy little brat! The dinner contained every delicious dish you could ever imagine eating, including the Easter cakes, Southern desserts, and one little woman would bring a “Jesus birthday cake.”

Such delicious memories I have, and I confess, as an adult, I have never enjoyed Easter nearly as much since losing my grandmother. I have no idea how my sisters feel about Easter, but my memories of Grandma and Papa and our Easters at their house were the best. I remember sitting next to Grandma. She would open her Holy Bible to the scriptures, underlining these precious words with a red ink pen. No highlighters! I remember singing along with the choir, and occasionally glancing at some of the boys. When Grandma patted me on the leg, I knew — I must behave and pay attention to ‘the word of our Lord.’ How I wish I had Grandma’s Holy Bible in my collection of books. I have no idea what happened to it, but I do recall she wrote the complete and final request of how her funeral was to be in the back pages of that Bible. Her one song request, “Asleep in Jesus.” I found it at a music store and someone sang it at her funeral. How I hope and pray someone in our family still has Grandma’s Holy Bible. If I did, I would open it today to read and reminisce about those Easter Sundays with Grandma. I would look at and touch the words highlighted in red ink, knowing that many, many years ago, my Grandmother touched those same words! Maybe one day soon I’ll write a story about Grandma’s Holy Bible.

Not a bad idea!

Happy Easter, World. Let us all appreciate what this season represents.