Treasuring Simplicity: White House Easter Egg Roll

I applied for the White House Easter egg roll through the lottery…and didn’t get in. When I forwarded my rejection email to my sister and mom, my sister took action and reached out to a friend of hers. Before I knew it, we had three tickets to the egg roll.

My sister’s friend warned her that it would be a bit like going to Six Flags—we think that is a bit of an understatement, as it was more like going to the Christmas tree lighting at Rockefeller Center (but the crowd was filled with toddlers and children who had just stood in line for over an hour). When I posted a photo on Facebook with a caption that stated it was a “once-in-a-lifetime experience”—I meant it, as I don’t know if I can ever brave the crowds again. Granted, it was an amazing opportunity, but I wasn’t prepared to stand in line for hours with a two-year old having brought no games, books or toys. If there is a next time, I will be better prepared!

We finally see the Welcome sign after having been in line for an hour—almost there! (Actually, not quite, as we still had two more lines to brave.)

Alex got an Easter tattoo on his hand—he is not sure how well it goes with his bowtie.

We had a gorgeous day for the egg roll—look at that sky! The trees were either in full bloom or just budding. The setting was quite beautiful.

Since I was completely unprepared (major parenting fail), I gave Alex my phone to occupy himself. Of course, he immediately started watching Curious George. By the time we got into the egg roll, I took my phone away and he started screaming “I want George”. All I could think of was that the President before Obama took office was George Bush, and I wondered what others around me must think as my son, with tears streaming down his face, screamed at the top of his lungs “George, George, I want George”.

Eventually Alex calmed down and we were able to enjoy the grounds. We walked down to the hula hooping section and danced to the music, then we stood and watched the fountains with the monument in the background.

Strolling around the grounds were many different types of characters. At first, Alex was petrified of these, but he eventually became intrigued by them. As a former actor, I have done a variety of awful gigs. Being a character at the White House Easter egg roll, though, has to be the worst gig ever. First, the day was incredibly hot, and, as many of these costumes were huge, the individuals wearing them must have been sweltering. Second, and maybe more importantly, they couldn’t see; each character was assigned a handler, and this handler was telling the character when there was a step, what side a child was waving to them (“child waving on your right” we heard), etc. We left feeling really grateful that we were not characters at the White House Easter egg roll.

Alex got a box of Peeps and a commemorative Easter egg at the end. We headed back to the car (past some gorgeous cherry blossoms) and then to my sister’s apartment in Georgetown for an Easter egg hunt and dinner.