The tooth fairy was there too

Holy week started with Palm Sunday; the parade of Jesus and his disciples into Jerusalem. Today is Maundy Thursday where we remember the last supper and the first communion. Tomorrow we remember the death and resurrection of Jesus and then Sunday we celebrate that he has risen!

Explaining the Easter season to a 5 year old is hard. Blood, torture, death, resurrection, angels...all of it just sounds so awful. And it was awful. Horrible. Something a 5 year old should not have to hear about. I am blessed we live in a place where my children are shielded from all of that. Perhaps if they had experienced trauma or seen mass causalities like children in Syria, the Easter story truly would bring them hope and light but they haven't and for that we are lucky. 

Henry began asking about the Easter bunny about a week ago. 

"Mom, is the bunny just a guy in a suit?"

Me (after gasping and having no clue what to say) "What do you think?"

"I think yes, maybe he is"

Then he dropped it. Until later that evening.

Henry "Dad, is the Easter bunny just a guy in a costume?"

Paul "Yeah, it is, bud"

Me- silently hitting Paul on the arm in the front seat of the car because we had not discussed how to handle any of this Easter bunny, Santa stuff. I then asked him "Well do you think that Easter bunny brings your presents?"

Henry "No, the real one does.." end of discussion.

To be honest, the Easter bunny freaks me out. Most of them are creepy and I just can't get on board with the connection between Easter and Jesus. It is a stretch and simply not there. Now, Santa makes more sense. He is an actual person and there was a Saint Nicholas that gave presents to children. Okay, makes sense. I am just glad he didn't ask about that.

Then we come to the tooth fairy.

I picked Henry up from school on Tuesday and he told me that he knew the story of Easter.

"Jesus came to this town on a donkey. Then these bad guys put him in a cave. THEN the tooth fairy came and said "JESUS IS ALIVE"'. 

Okay...donkey, yes. Cave/tomb whatever. Tooth fairy? 

I asked if it was an angel... nope, tooth fairy

I asked if it was a woman named Mary, nope the tooth fairy. And he knows he is right because it was in his teachers favorite book and she is always right.

As you embark on this holy week try to remember the joy and hope that comes out of the sorrow and pain. 

Tonight we remember the last supper, the first communion, the time that Jesus washes the feet of his disciples and again tells him what will happen. 

Tomorrow we remember the ultimate sacrifice, the 7 last words that Jesus spoke before dying on the cross and being carried to the tomb.

Then Sunday morning we will stand together, as one, as people of God proclaiming that Christ is Alive and Christ is risen, even the tooth fairy will be there.

Happy Easter