William & Kate 2

[prayawaythefundie]

1 hour ago, Baxter said:

I remember my son's first Easter. He was two months old and it kind of sucked because while everyone else was eating dinner. I sat on the couch and nursed him. I eventually got to eat some dinner quickly before he wanted to nurse again. I believe he also spat up on his cute Easter outfit. I'm so happy to be done with babies 😄. My son is seven now and he and his little sister are looking forward to Easter already. It's much more fun now. 

Thank you. I felt this at Christmas so much and honestly it‘s something I wasn‘t prepared for but maybe should have realised in advance. Taking baby to familly celebrations means everyone has a good time but mom has to take care of baby and doesn‘t get to eat with the group. And when you get home, you have a stressed & overtired baby. Like my birthday and Christmas, Easter won‘t be a big thing for me this year. I just hope it gets better and I can enjoy next Christmas a little.

Edited March 10, 2023 by prayawaythefundie

[just_ordinary]

Of course babies don’t care? For them it’s basically all the same with just some extra attention, maybe guests, sweets and gifts. 1st Birthday, Ester, Christmas…. you name it. It’s the adults that care at the most that point. I am a bit surprised that so few seem to have some sort of Easter celebrations though. Egg Hunt? Chocolates/Sweets and little gifts? Easter crafts and decorations? Having a small or large gathering with food? Special foods? Church for the religious or semi-religious people? Is that a US/EU thing? Because I thought most countries in the EU celebrate those 5 days to some extent? More religion heavy in the traditional catholic states and more for the eggs, bunnies, chicks and chocolates in the Protestant states. (And even the more religious crowd is often enough more culturally religious.) For example- we get the Friday and Monday off. Schools do have an Easter break and do Easter crafting in the lower classes and kindergarten. People with children often do at least the fun part. Happy to be corrected though.

Back to the RF. Wiliam didn’t just miss Charlotte’s first Easter but also missed the family celebration with his 3(?) year old. Easter is just like Christmas. Wouldn’t you mind if he missed Christmas with his family as well? Of course the family isn’t going to suffer if one parent misses a celebration once or twice. No biggie. But I can’t drop out of (more boring) work engagements saying I am prioritising time with family and then jet off to fun stuff I prefer at a time when most are celebrating with their families and friends. I bet, if it would have been a visit to a fishing market in the north he wouldn’t have shown up and acted as if staying with the fam for Easter was super duper important.

It’s a bit like Kate dropping out of the St. Patrick’s engagement to spend time with the children- only to go shopping in the afternoon.

The narratives didn’t match and that’s exactly what the tabloids exploited.

3 hours ago, prayawaythefundie said:

Thank you. I felt this at Christmas so much and honestly it‘s something I wasn‘t prepared for but maybe should have realised in advance. Taking baby to familly celebrations means everyone has a good time but mom has to take care of baby and doesn‘t get to eat with the group. And when you get home, you have a stressed & overtired baby. Like my birthday and Christmas, Easter won‘t be a big thing for me this year. I just hope it gets better and I can enjoy next Christmas a little.

It’s most definitely stressful. We started to host Christmas ourselves and people help by bringing dishes or cooking in my kitchen. It depends on how big your flat/house is compared to the size of the guest list. Opting out was also on the table. A intimate Christmas celebration just for the „new“ fam (because a second baby won’t make it easier) can be just what is needed this year. If going away, I have no inhibitions to bring everything I might need. Might raise some eyebrows but I rather drive stuff home we didn’t need instead of being annoyed we didn’t bring it. Also, it’s super helpful to send the father or maybe an aunt/uncle or the grandparents out for a walk with the child. You can relax, eat and even have a conversation and baby gets fresh air, less noise and excitement and might even have a nice nap in the pram. Also good to dampen down the over sugared older children. Depends on the weather though.

[AmazonGrace]

My husband has been working at the ER on numerous holidays, religious and otherwise. The children have survived it apparently unscathed. JMO parenting is not about Christmas or Easter, it's about giving the kids enough of your time and attention on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday... I don't know how the royal kids fare in that respect but I am pretty certain they get more of the holiday sideshow with eggs, bunnies and holiday events and decorations because it's somebody's job to think about these things.

We have some Easter decorations that I used to put up when the kids were younger but we are not that religious and otherwise it's just a long weekend at our house, a mini spring break.

[Jackie3]

2 hours ago, AmazonGrace said:

My husband has been working at the ER on numerous holidays, religious and otherwise. The children have survived it apparently unscathed. JMO parenting is not about Christmas or Easter, it's about giving the kids enough of your time and attention on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday... I don't know how the royal kids fare in that respect but I am pretty certain they get more of the holiday sideshow with eggs, bunnies and holiday events and decorations because it's somebody's job to think about these things.

We have some Easter decorations that I used to put up when the kids were younger but we are not that religious and otherwise it's just a long weekend at our house, a mini spring break.

Yes, it's the parents who lose the memories. Now that my kids are grown, I see how important that is. I'm glad I missed very few. Certainly I would never have missed any to go see elephants (I'd have brought the family along!), but everyone makes their own choices.

Edited March 10, 2023 by Jackie3

[TN-peach]

3 hours ago, AmazonGrace said:

My husband has been working at the ER on numerous holidays, religious and otherwise. The children have survived it apparently unscathed. JMO parenting is not about Christmas or Easter, it's about giving the kids enough of your time and attention on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday... I don't know how the royal kids fare in that respect but I am pretty certain they get more of the holiday sideshow with eggs, bunnies and holiday events and decorations because it's somebody's job to think about these things.

We have some Easter decorations that I used to put up when the kids were younger but we are not that religious and otherwise it's just a long weekend at our house, a mini spring break.

My mom was a nurse and my dad was in the Navy.  I missed several holidays with my parents because they had to work on holidays.  We always found a way to celebrate holidays earlier or later.  Once my parents split my brother and I were able to celebrate Christmas twice.  I don't think I was deprived of parental attention from my parents when they missed a holiday.  The one thing I will say that I missed and made me sad is that after my parents split I was unable to spend another birthday with my dad.  My birthday was always during the school year and my dad lived either 7 or 16 hours away. 

[Baxter]

@just_ordinary where I live in Canada, most people get a four day weekend do it is sort of a big deal but we aren't religious. Our focus is on egg dyeing, the Easter bunny coming, having Easter dinner with family. I usually do a bit of baking with the kids. I have to say I would be sad if my husband couldn't be with us at Easter but it would be okay. I would absolutely not be fine with him missing Christmas. It is a much bigger deal to us than Easter. 

[Baxter]

14 hours ago, prayawaythefundie said:

Thank you. I felt this at Christmas so much and honestly it‘s something I wasn‘t prepared for but maybe should have realised in advance. Taking baby to familly celebrations means everyone has a good time but mom has to take care of baby and doesn‘t get to eat with the group. And when you get home, you have a stressed & overtired baby. Like my birthday and Christmas, Easter won‘t be a big thing for me this year. I just hope it gets better and I can enjoy next Christmas a little.

Neither of my kids were easy going babies so holidays were hard when they were babies. The smaller the baby, the harder the holiday in my experience. But somewhere between 2 and 3 everything starts to become so much easier and the holidays start to actually become fun again. And it just gets easier every year. It's a miracle!

[prayawaythefundie]

35 minutes ago, Baxter said:

Neither of my kids were easy going babies so holidays were hard when they were babies. The smaller the baby, the harder the holiday in my experience. But somewhere between 2 and 3 everything starts to become so much easier and the holidays start to actually become fun again. And it just gets easier every year. It's a miracle!

My baby is pretty easy going (for a baby). I‘m just not tough enough. 😅

[Jackie3]

I think it's great there are so many to rush to defend Wills.  If only he showed the same interest in defending his brother and SIL. Personally, I don't defend people who knock down their siblings and shove fingers in their SIL's face.He sounds brutish and entitled.

[nvmbr02]

Same for us. My husband has worked almost every Easter (along with most other holidays). It was actually easier when he was in the military because unless he was deployed he was usually home for the holidays. Some years we did Easter events like egg hunts some years we didn't. We didn't celebrate the religious holiday.  My kids always get an Easter basket, but aside from that it hasn't been a holiday we have put much thought into. It used to bother me more that my husband missed Christmas and Thanksgiving. So we generally celebrate those on a day everyone can be home together, so it is frequently celebrated 2-5 days before or after. 

[Jackie3]

I applaud people who so proudly miss their kids's special days. I'm afraid I'm on Team Be-There-For-Them.

With that said, when there's a work conflict we celebrate holidays on nontraditional days. Not sure if Wills did that with Charlotte. Most likely he looked at at texted picture of the kids, and went back to his "work." We all know that he considers Africa to be "his." I've often wondered how the Africans felt about that. 

[Alisamer]

On 3/10/2023 at 3:54 AM, just_ordinary said:

I am a bit surprised that so few seem to have some sort of Easter celebrations though. Egg Hunt? Chocolates/Sweets and little gifts? Easter crafts and decorations? Having a small or large gathering with food? Special foods? Church for the religious or semi-religious people?

I'm in the US. For my family we do Easter - it's a whole-family thing just like Christmas and Thanksgiving. Same foods for lunch, we all get together, etc. But - Easter has a little bit extra. It's over the top, a bit, but it's fun. The youngest of us is like 23 or so, and we've done this since she was a toddler. The EGG HUNT. When the youngest was tiny she got her own, easier, egg hunt often with a friend who joined the celebration. But then and now the older cousins had a serious egg hunt. At one point it became a "full contact" egg hunt so now the rules are changed... the older generation hides the eggs. There are about 12 different styles of egg, and everyone has to find one of each kind. Each kind is hidden all together (more or less) in a group. So all the camo eggs might be hidden in the azaleas within a few feet of each other, while all the metallic eggs might be in the mailbox all together. The first person to turn their basket in wins. And there are also extra special eggs, for special extra prizes. We each have a list of what we are looking for.

And the prizes are really good. Like a $50 Amazon gift card for first place, with gift cards on down, plus additional prizes like candies and such. Last place gets Peeps. The giant black egg gets a Starbucks gift card. The sparkly gold one might get one too. Maybe the giant lavender egg gets a giant chocolate bunny. 

So now, unless two people finish their list at the same time, there's no full-contact checking siblings out of the way. But there are negotiations. "Psst... I'll tell you where the Darth Vader heads are if you tell me where the Hello Kitty eggs are..." and "What haven't you found that I have? I'm looking for the pastel glitter eggs."

We have lunch after church (I usually skip church and babysit the food that's cooking), everyone hangs out and talks for a while, then at some point in the afternoon the EGG HUNT begins. Then after we often do a craft or dye eggs or something. One of my aunts takes charge of Easter activities, so this is all her production. 

[Baxter]

1 hour ago, Alisamer said:

I'm in the US. For my family we do Easter - it's a whole-family thing just like Christmas and Thanksgiving. Same foods for lunch, we all get together, etc. But - Easter has a little bit extra. It's over the top, a bit, but it's fun. The youngest of us is like 23 or so, and we've done this since she was a toddler. The EGG HUNT. When the youngest was tiny she got her own, easier, egg hunt often with a friend who joined the celebration. But then and now the older cousins had a serious egg hunt. At one point it became a "full contact" egg hunt so now the rules are changed... the older generation hides the eggs. There are about 12 different styles of egg, and everyone has to find one of each kind. Each kind is hidden all together (more or less) in a group. So all the camo eggs might be hidden in the azaleas within a few feet of each other, while all the metallic eggs might be in the mailbox all together. The first person to turn their basket in wins. And there are also extra special eggs, for special extra prizes. We each have a list of what we are looking for.

And the prizes are really good. Like a $50 Amazon gift card for first place, with gift cards on down, plus additional prizes like candies and such. Last place gets Peeps. The giant black egg gets a Starbucks gift card. The sparkly gold one might get one too. Maybe the giant lavender egg gets a giant chocolate bunny. 

So now, unless two people finish their list at the same time, there's no full-contact checking siblings out of the way. But there are negotiations. "Psst... I'll tell you where the Darth Vader heads are if you tell me where the Hello Kitty eggs are..." and "What haven't you found that I have? I'm looking for the pastel glitter eggs."

We have lunch after church (I usually skip church and babysit the food that's cooking), everyone hangs out and talks for a while, then at some point in the afternoon the EGG HUNT begins. Then after we often do a craft or dye eggs or something. One of my aunts takes charge of Easter activities, so this is all her production. 

The egg hunt sounds like so much fun! I will need to keep this in mind for when my kids get older and a regular egg hunt might seem boring. 

[noseybutt]

Get you some cascarones—which means you might also need to get you some Mexican heritage or family or friends.

Easter egg hunts will never be the same.

So. Much. Fun.

[kpmom]

@Baxteryour egg hunt sounds like ours. My kids are grown, but I still make them and their aunt do an egg hunt and even play games. But, like you, the prizes are gift cards, and a $20 bill for the person who finds the golden egg, so they love it!  We have a great afternoon. 
 

I am a fairly regular church goer, but I gave up on church on Easter morning a few years ago. It was way overcrowded, not enough seating, I got stuck doing coffee hour several years so hardly got to enjoy the service. But now with steaming services I can at least listen in and sing along with all the great hymns. 

[Jackie3]

The Daily Mail reports that Louis will be at the coronation.

[CaseyGrace]

On 1/29/2023 at 10:18 PM, Jackie3 said:

A food bank that didn't want food? OK. Then Wills could have left a check. I'm sure the food bank ("We rely exclusively on private donations") would have loved a check. 

If Wills couldn't afford it, he could have included a link to the food bank on the royal's instagram page. 

do you think prince william is actively managing the royal family instagram pages like a 19 year old instagram influencer? 

[TN-peach]

William is in Poland visiting troops and refugees. 

[Jackie3]

1 hour ago, CaseyGrace said:

do you think prince william is actively managing the royal family instagram pages like a 19 year old instagram influencer? 

I am sure they follow his orders. Whether he does the actual work. . . I don't think he does much actual work, of any sort.

[Loveday]

11 hours ago, TN-peach said:

William is in Poland visiting troops and refugees. 

News article about his visit:

https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/22/europe/prince-william-poland-intl-gbr/index.html

[viii]

I've never been able to feel the same way about the world's support for Ukraine since someone pointed out to me that it's because they're a white country. I'm not downplaying what is happening to Ukraine in any way, but now that I've had conversations about how differently the world has treated the war in Ukraine vs wars in Africa or the Middle East, it's all I can think about now. 

[prayawaythefundie]

William joined his staff for dinner at a queer restaurant. This should not even be newsworthy but, considering the state of gay / trans rights in Poland, it apparently is. 

Edited March 24, 2023 by prayawaythefundie

[viii]

I don't follow William that closely. Do we know if this is a common thing for him? Like, is he a usual ally when it comes to speaking about LGBT/trans rights? Or is this a PR stunt to garner some goodwill? I'm reserving my judgement. 

[prayawaythefundie]

1 hour ago, viii said:

I don't follow William that closely. Do we know if this is a common thing for him? Like, is he a usual ally when it comes to speaking about LGBT/trans rights? Or is this a PR stunt to garner some goodwill? I'm reserving my judgement. 

He was on the cover of of Attitude some years ago. 
https://amp.theguardian.com/media/2016/jun/15/prince-william-gay-magazine-attitude-duke-of-cambridge

Allegedly the team had booked for dinner at the restaurant and he asked if he could join. Sounds coincidental. Could be intended to.

https://pagesix.com/2023/03/23/prince-william-dines-at-gay-restaurant-on-surprise-poland-trip/amp/

In general, „speaking out“ is PR. You can‘t really seperate the two.

[tabitha2]

He is not doing much different than many of his ancestors did in hanging out with And having fun with /not minding Gay people.  He just won’t risk a red hot poker for doing it thank goodness.     

 

 

Edited March 24, 2023 by tabitha2