One of the wonderful things about holidays is that they are often events so grand that they become indelible in our memories, even helping form our personalities and the fabric of our lives. Easter was huge in my family, with every possible ingredient in the mix to make it perfect. Grandma took us to church and we got to sit beside her and play with the big catch on her patent leather bag (it made a really neat thunking sound when you pulled it with your thumb). She made bunnies out of the linen hankies she always had with her and she could make them “jump” from the crook in her arm. There were usually Luden’s cough drops in her purse and she always let us have one. Church was fun on Easter because of all the music. Sometimes when Grandma sang in the choir I got to go sit beside her in the loft.

Those of you expecting what many of you refer to as one of my “rants” are going to be disappointed this week. While life, even here, has its share of irritations (usually in the form of other expats and their lack of sensitivity), there is no denying the bounty of life and color that bursts forth (waxing a little poetic here) around Lake Chapala in the early spring.

Okay, everybody. You’re right. I shouldn’t listen to the first person I talk to at the Consulate about the procedure for renewing my passport. I mean, what should they know about it? It turns out that my rant about the complications of renewing a United States passport were for naught. Guess what!? It turns out that the whole thing can be taken care of here in little bitty Ajijic on the first Wednesday of the month when the representative from the Consulate makes his regular visit. I didn’t find this out from the “experts” on passport renewal. I found out from readers and then double checked at the Consulate. The readers are right (they usually are).