The day after Easter, April 1, the three of us boarded a plane at night to head to Europe for the month of April. Just the day before, we celebrated with the family after church by finding eggs, opening an Easter basket and eating all together.

We packed up a few carry ons and our toddler and headed to the airport Monday evening for a later than we thought flight. At 9:45pm we took off in a British Airways aircraft to London with a shortish layover and then on to Berlin.

The flight was ok..hard with a toddler but not harder than we expected. He slept and cried most of the long almost 10 hour flight and clearly we had sympathy from other parents as we tried to rock him back to sleep and then sit upright in a cramped way to sleep with him as much as possible.

We arrived to London, bleary eyed and mid afternoon although feeling as though it was the middle of the night and made our way to our next gate. We somehow got on and to Berlin at late night German time. Our bodies exhausted and confused we made our way to a hotel for one night because we flew to Serbia the next night to spend 10 days in Belgrade.

We made it to Belgrade on Wednesday evening, Serbia time and have been here since then. Our bodies finally adjusted, I think, we have been enjoying grandparent time and sunnier weather. Our Easter season has begun with a bang. Easter is 50 days in the Christian calendar….50 days to adjust to new ways living. 50 days to think about Resurrection and learn what it might mean this particular season. 50 days to look at the world anew.

My Easter season is full of feels that when we arrive to Berlin on April 12th I am sure will be complicated, lovely and hard at times. We are excited to visit our previous life but also cautious about how we approach it now. I am excited to see people and eat foods and wander in places and show Tadej his birthplace much like we are excited these days to introduce him to Balkan foods and people and places we love here. We know that he won’t remember this trip but it is laying foundations for him as a multi layered person with histories and things he will love about these places too. Easter is about remembering and rebuilding. It is about new life and new seasons.

How are you celebrating your season?