While spring in Kentucky teases us with intermittent days of warm weather, I can’t help but feel hopeful as I hear the birds begin to sing, and see the flowers start to bloom. Yes, we are one month closer to summer (invariably the best time of the year).
And, watching the new flowers popping up out of the ground, I can’t help but think of my children, as I see their brightly-colored blooms emerge.
Kids love loud, vibrant colors … clothes, balloons, cereals, candy, Popsicles … you name it. (Somehow, this color thing has yet to catch on with vegetables, where this does — in fact — create quite the opposite effect; take eggplant and orange cauliflower for example. But, I’m still keeping my fingers crossed.)
Yet, as much as my children delight in artificial coloring, these days I’m trying to buy more foods without added dyes (Thank you General Mills for making my cereal selections easier.)
But, Easter becomes a particularly hard time to say no to high-fructose corn syrup and food coloring. Dyeing Easter eggs, eating JELL-O salad, and supplying baskets full of candy are all American staples during this time of year.
And I’ve found the more vibrantly colored a processed food is, the more children are drawn to it; like a moth to a flame.
Perhaps this is why Americans buy more than 700 million marshmallow Peeps around the Easter season. Why are they so popular?
Well, because they have a cheery disposition and a shiny texture. Really, everything about Peeps, screams appealing to your brain.
And, unlike the chalk-tasting candy hearts of Valentine’s Day, Peeps actually taste good.
I, personally, prefer the chocolate-dipped. (Yes, they’ve targeted marshmallows for adults now, too.)
But, if you’re dedicated, and forgo stuffing Peeps in your face, there is one Easter activity that doesn’t involve overeating processed sugar, and that’s seeing kids hunt for Easter eggs.
Every year, I can’t help but get great enjoyment from watching my children run around like chickens with their heads cut off.
The fun is all in the search.
When you’re looking for something, you’re hopeful; you’re excited about the future. There is something simple, and yet, luring about the things yet to come.
We forget a lot of times, as adults, that we should never stop looking for the next opportunity.
I don’t ever want to get to a point where my basket is too full, and I can’t learn something new, or add something to my life. Sometimes, the best things are hiding in the tall grass, and have yet to be discovered.
