I wanted to order Easter dinner. I really did. But The Husband’s nostrils got in the way.

By SARA VANDEN BERGE

I have been oddly stressed that a missing red onion and can of cheddar cheese soup would be responsible for ruining my Easter dinner.

Unlike the rest of Americans, I have not struggled to find toilet paper, but a simple onion and can of that soup have eluded me for weeks.

A bottle of chardonnay from Hearsay Wine Bar.

But I forged ahead; piecing together my Easter dinner with things I already had in the freezer (a ham and string potatoes) and what I could get from HEB’s curbside service (which has been outstanding, by the way).

The rest would come from my pantry where I happened to find a can of white cheddar soup (thankfully, unexpired) for the potatoes and a yellow onion that would be diced and tossed into the broccoli salad.

How much difference could color make?

Luckily, we were good to go with wine.

I’m a planner that way.

A STICKLER FOR TRADITION

The Ham for The Husband.

You’re probably wondering why I didn’t do the smart thing and order dinner from one of our wonderful local restaurants.

Believe me, I wanted to.

But The Husband’s nostrils got in the way.

He’s a real stickler for tradition and the idea of an Easter Sunday without the smell of ham wafting through the kitchen was not something he was willing to compromise on.

So I cooked.

On Saturday, I set out the ham to defrost, then made potatoes.

AN UNUSUAL CELEBRATION

This year’s Easter celebration has been much different than in year’s past. I imagine yours is too.

For the first time in our 29-year marriage, we weren’t able to go to church.

Only one of our three kids were home.

There were no rambunctious egg hunts or time spent playing cards with extended family.

I didn’t even wear pink.

We woke up to rain and thunder, and when it cleared, we went for a long walk to burn off the calories we were about to consume. (We probably should have jogged.)

And when we arrived home, we were met with the smell of Easter dinner cooking and that made The Husband ridiculously happy.

Broccoli salad with white onion. Not bad.

Turns out there isn’t a lot of difference in white cheddar and cheddar cheese soup. The potatoes were perfect. Ditto for the broccoli salad.

The small party of four – our daughter Brooke, her boyfriend Ryan, The Husband and I – filled a plate and enjoyed a late afternoon lunch outside.

We spent the rest of the day by the pool and plan to watch the new episode of Tiger King this evening.

Quality family time at its finest.

This year’s Easter celebration wasn’t the one I ever would have imagined, and I missed my boys terribly, but we made it work.

I hope you did too.

Happy Easter.