Hope abides this Easter, seize it!

Let's talk about that big day coming up this weekend, Easter.

Some of you, like me, consider it a holy day. To others, it's just a holiday. It's also a family day, a time to gather around the table and talk about the future, maybe let the young one's hunt Easter eggs. Eat some ham. Eat some chocolate.

As a kid, it meant wearing your Sunday best. For me that was this little blue and white sailor suit, a cotton garment that required my mom to spend extra time ironing on Saturday night. Believe me, keeping that thing clean was a monumental task. Shedding it at the end of the day was cathartic.

But I learned early on that Easter was all about hope. That thought came home to me again in the 60s with this great song written by Carole King and her husband, and performed by various artists including the Monkees and Taj Mahal. My favorite part:

"Remember the feeling as a child

When you woke up and morning smiled? It's time you felt like you did then."

"Take a Giant Step,"

by Carole King and Gerry Goffin

The dictionary says hope is a feeling of expectation and a desire for a certain thing to happen. Some of our hopes are shared with others. I hope we get a tax break this year, I hope we survive the presidential election; I hope that peace breaks out in the world.

Some are very personal and specific. I hope I get a new job; I hope I get a raise; I hope nobody else finds out about this.

Don't be afraid to talk about your hopes and dreams. You'll likely realize just how much you have in common with others. The important thing here is to "talk, discuss and mull it over." Above all else, agree to disagree agreeably.

While you're at it, go on an Easter egg hunt. Yes, you can engage in a literal one with a basket to collect your treats. Looking in all of nature's nooks and crannies might prove to be as cathartic for you as shedding a cotton sailor suit was for me. Just imagine a basket heaped with Cadbury Crème Eggs.

But I digress. Chasing rabbits as it were. Think about that great 1975 cult classic movie, "The Rocky Horror Picture Show." The cast had an Easter egg hunt, but some of the eggs went unfound. They can be seen throughout the film in a variety of places.

Since then, the term has been used to describe hidden messages in various forms of media.

As slang, Easter eggs are sometimes inside jokes, but can be a delightful surprise for observant viewers. The movie creators at Pixar are well known for including Easter eggs in their films, sometimes hiding a character from one movie in the background of another.

Imagine hope. Imagine a delightful surprise. That's my Easter challenge to you. If you look for hope in a church pew; at a dinner table groaning with ham and trimmings; or on the grounds of a bona fide Easter egg hunt, I hope you find it.

When you find it, hold on to it. Share it as appropriate. Let it sustain you.

But most of all,

"Remember the feeling as a child

When you woke up and morning smiled..."