Sitting for a quiet half hour in the dentist's chair yesterday, I gathered these thoughts for this Hump Day. During February break, the boys and I went to a robotic dinosaur exhibit at the science museum in Manchester, NH. A caution sign hung outside a partially hidden exhibit: "Warning, Carnivore Scene." At the Currier Art Museum across town, the European art gallery with numerous vivid, bloody works depicting Christ on the cross should have had a similar warning. I did not find convincing Easter words to shatter those graphic images etched on a 7-yr-old's mind. The melancholy of Good Friday and the rejoicing of Easter all sat heavily with me this year. I resorted to Cadbury's chocolate eggs.

We went to Portland, Maine for Easter weekend. In the Children's Museum, my sons and I climbed into a life-sized blow-up humpback whale. The guide pointed out body parts from the inside and explained how whales and humans are both mammals: "Where did you grow? Inside your mommy's tummy, right?" Liam glanced at me, opened his mouth, then closed it. I think we both may have been thinking, "Ack, what the heck does she know?" Fleetingly, I thought 'biological birth whale mother?' I let it go.

The weekend started out with something for every one but nothing for everyone. Boutique shopping for me. A brewery for Bill. A swimming pool for Will & Liam. I even thought we all might enjoy a workshop in making tempura paints out of egg yolks. In reality, that was for me. Sunday morning we rose, packed up, and went to Mackworth Island to hike the circular cliff and see the fairy houses in the woods. However, we had a change of plans. A pleasant surprise: Low tide.

Finally, there was the something for everyone. Our first day at the beach this year. Rock climbing, shell seeking, playing football, rock collecting, rock throwing. Even a glance at a fisher cat, apparently a common but mean little creature in New England.

That good dose of sea air blew out the sticky cobwebs that were globbing up the transition between winter and spring. Today, the snowmen are going into the winter storage tub to make room for dafs on the mantel.

Happy Hump Day!