An Easter Meeting - Patrick Sheehan

An Easter Meeting

Gabriela and Julianna

Happy (belated) Easter! Easter 2013 was the most exciting Easter that the Sheehan family has had in a very long time. Easter in my household used to be characterized by the annual Sheehan sibling Easter Egg Hunt which, having siblings who were ten and eight years my senior, I never won. When I was a kid, I used to wake up early because I was so excited to see what the Easter Bunny had brought me. I would wake my siblings up, we would do the Easter Egg hunt, and then my parents would give each of us one gift. Mine was usually something sports related, either baseball or track, while my sister got clothes and my brother got books or movies. We would have the whole family over for a ham dinner later. Grandma and Grandpa would come, sometimes uncles and aunts. Easter was like a mini-Christmas for our family, and it was a holiday that we all looked forward to and enjoyed.

The Easter Bunny (aka Grandma Kiki)

Easter is a Christian holiday that celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In the Christian religion, it is believed that Jesus suffered, died and was buried for the sins of the people of Earth. On the third day after his death, Jesus rose from the dead. This rising from the dead symbolizes a rebirth of people who pay a penance for their sins. It also is the most important holiday in the Christian religion because it establishes Jesus as the son of God and shows that God will judge everyone based on righteousness.

Mike, Jess and baby JuJu (with Jeremy in the background)

Grandma Kiki and Julianna

As we have all gotten older, Easter has lost it’s meaning and it’s excitement for all of us. I stopped believing in the Easter Bunny about fourteen years ago (thank goodness), we stopped going to Church regularly, my siblings have moved away from Pittsfield and back, and Easter has changed. Heck, we don’t even dye eggs anymore. It’s just a reality of growing up that holidays aren’t as exciting as they were when you were a kid, but that doesn’t mean we have to like it.

Jaxson and his awesome bunny shirt (Little Dude didn't like the flash)

Well let me tell you, when I woke up on Sunday, March 31^st, I was so excited. The days leading up to Easter, I had found out that my entire family would be at my house on Easter Sunday for dinner. This will be the first family dinner we will have had since the newest addition to my family, my nephew Jaxson, was born. My family has been fortunate enough in the past year to have gained two beautiful and healthy babies. My Mike brother and his wife Gabriela welcomed into the world Julianna in September of 2012. My sister Jess and her husband Jeremy brought Jaxson into this world in the beginning of March, 2013.

Jeremy taking a break from parenting duties

It’s amazing how little kids bring out the child in you. Whether it’s just holding them and recognizing their innocence (like I do with Jaxson since he isn’t even a month yet), or playing with stuffed animals and bouncing around (like Julianna loves), little kids bring energy, fun, and excitement to almost anything you do (except change diapers). But this excitement counts double for holidays.  Children, even at this age, bring back the amazing feel that comes with the holidays. Maybe it is because they make you reminisce about the holidays when you were a kid. Maybe it’s because you see someone who is as happy as you once were about the holiday, and that happiness is contagious. Whatever the reason may be, it is undeniable that little kids make holidays better.

Julianna and Maggie

Jess and Jaxson

Gabriela and Julianna

I tried to capture the experience of the two cousins meeting for the first time, as well as my niece and nephews first Easter. Julianna is obviously more interactive than Jaxson is, so she was very interested in meeting her cousin, touching him and trying to have an interaction with him. I also tried to capture some of the craziness of my family, as well as how busy the interactions were with the babies. It was an adorable meeting. I caught some great pictures of Julianna with everyone (even my puppy Maggie), and then the two of them meeting. Picture are Grandma Kiki (my mother) and Grandpa Dude (my father), as well as my sister Jessica, her husband Jeremy, therr son Jaxson, my brother Mike, his wife Gabriela, and their daughter Julianna. Oh and my dogs Maggie and Lucy. 

JuJu and Jax meeting for the first time!

Cousin love

A busy scene

All in all, it was the best Easter that I have had in a long, long time.

"Blessed by childhood, which brings down something of Heaven into the midst of our rough earthliness."
- Henri Frederic Amiel