Oh Mom, its so cute that you think Happy Hour is the worst parenting thing you’ve ever done. Allow me to take you on a walk down memory lane…

Easter morning, probably sometime in the early 90′s. As is your tradition, you made Easter baskets for us with candy and a present. The farm had rabbit hutches and we had been begging for our own bunnies, so on this lovely Easter morning our baskets held baby bunnies. One for each of us (it was just Apple and I, Ginger wasn’t born yet) and we were thrilled. I named mine Hopkins, Apple named hers Flora. We loved our baby bunnies, played with our baby bunnies, kissed the baby bunnies…our house was positively brimming with baby bunny bliss.

But now its time to go to church…our hair was curled, the matching frou-frou dresses and Easter hats, white socks with lacey edges and white patent Mary Janes…kiss the baby bunnies before you go, they will be waiting for you!

Fast forward to after church. We all tumble out of the car and are so excited to see the baby bunnies, we love the baby bunnies Mom! Dad had gone in the house first, but before we could go inside he said Girls, why don’t you play on the swingset for awhile? And so we did. Dad and Mom went inside, and a few minutes later Dad took a garbage bag to the trash bin, but we didn’t notice that…we were swinging and thinking about our bunnies!

Finally Dad says girls you can come inside, its almost time for lunch. We burst into the house, where are the bunnies, we want to play with the bunnies, we LOVE our bunnies!!

To which you and Dad uttered the words…”What bunnies? ”

The baby bunnies! Our Easter bunnies, we love our bunnies so much, where are the bunnies?

You and Mom looked at each other quizzically. What are you talking about girls, there aren’t any bunnies?

Oh but Mom yes there were, the bunnies we got for Easter! I remember the bunnies, don’t you remember the bunnies Apple? She remembers the bunnies too Dad!

The infamous Easter of 1988

And then Dad took it one devious step further- did you all DREAM that you got bunnies for Easter?

I paused and looked at Apple. Do you remember the bunnies? Apple started to cry.

But…the bunnies…we had bunnies…didn’t we?

To which you and Dad, said WOW, you all dreamt that you had bunnies! That’s the craziest thing! Well, Easter dinner is almost ready and your grandparents will be here, so go get ready for Easter pictures!

And until I was in my twenties, I thought my sister and I had both dreamt about bunnies. Until I was in my twenties, I just thought our cat Mo was a good mouser. And until I was in my twenties, I didn’t know that you and Dad would rather delude your girls into thinking we had some mind-dream connectedness, for a decade and a half, rather than explain the facts of life, the predator-hunter food chain bunny carnage that happens when you have a cat and baby bunnies.

I rest my case. And RIP Hopkins and Flora.