Easter and the Great Plagues

Easter has come and gone and thankfully we survived. The lead up is usually as crazy as the lead up to Christmas, and this year was really no different. It was full of plagues and planning and tired and cranky children and parents. We’re not a huge church going family – we’re lucky to make it there for weddings, funerals, Easter and Christenings. And this weekend we managed to combine two of them. (Easter and a Christening). It was the icing on an otherwise chaotic week.

I’m sure that somewhere in the Bible it speaks of the great plagues. I’m almost certain we have three of them at home at the moment.

Before Easter I usually hide a great stash of chocolate in anticipation of the big event. Knowing we have a few mice around at the moment I was especially careful about this. And then as the big night descended upon us, I opened my stash only to learn that mice had somehow managed to find their way into several items! I was horrified (and also thankful for the spares). The Easter Bunny also had to deny the request from the children for an egg hunt (other than a few little cue cards leading them to the refrigerator) as the thought of mice chasing chocolate throughout the house makes my skin crawl.

On top of mice, we also have rabbits. And crickets. We live at the Hayman Island for rabbits at the moment. They are everywhere. Rabbits and crickets (or grasshoppers?). It’s enough to send a former city-girl like myself a little stir-crazy. The noise, the movement, the damage. Maybe those aren’t three of the plagues mentioned in the Bible, but I did say that we aren’t a huge church going family.

Anyone who lives in rural areas will tell you that the ‘plagues’ all pass. They are always replaced by the next plague, and some are far worse – or better – than others, and occasionally you are lucky enough to have a reprieve from all of them. Right now I am inundated with critters I could live without and it’s taking its toll on me. If anyone asks me what I’ve been up to lately, it seems like a cop out to say ‘eradicating mice’, but you really have to see it to believe the hard work and determination it takes to have a minor win here!

Thankfully we spent most of the Easter weekend at home. It meant a few days of relaxing with the family.

And then it rained.

Five inches of bacon saving liquid gold. We were lucky, although sadly others are still waiting their turn. Such is the way of nature. We celebrated our own little win by running through puddles and taking photos. The only way we know how.

 

 

Like Christmas, Easter can be a stressful time, however the rain certainly took a lot of the pressure off at home. It meant we could stay inside and hang out over a movie or a puzzle. And more than eradicating pests and stressing over another big day, we got to spend it as a family with friends and relatives we love, and that’s really what Easter is all about to me anyway.