Traditions are things I take seriously as the dad of the Ola household. And I can firmly tell you we've gotten our traditions down tighter than two coats of paint for two of the major holidays — Christmas and Thanksgiving.

An Easter tradition, however, still eludes me like that buried Easter egg hidden behind a fence post or the way my son does when he knows it's time for a bath.

It's not because of lack of effort or thought. In fact, it's quite the opposite. We've been to countless egg hunts, hosted our own egg decorating day, hidden baskets as far away as different zip codes and even attempted to travel during the holiday. But in the end, there still is no "zing" to this holiday.

Certainly the most serious of the traditional holidays, Easter holds that special appeal of perfectly angelic little girls wearing new Easter dresses to church and then later walking through meadows looking for eggs or candy.

But this is Western Pennsylvania, so let's get serious for a minute. Weather seldom, if ever, cooperates with the parents planning the perfect tradition.

Finding eggs from an egg hunt six weeks later because there was a foot of snow on the ground during Easter, stepping in a puddle full of slushy ice-sleet-salt-ash mixture and ruining your new pants or gnawing on a frozen bunny ear are the norm here.

It appears the weather is going to sock it to us again this year, providing a soppy, slimy, slushy Sunday mix.

Somehow, Peter Cottontail will make his mark though, and my kids will manage to find their baskets several hours before church. This will give them time to plow through a pound of jelly beans, get enough chocolate on their hands to mess up the furniture and put a couple of Peeps into their new church clothes, where they will be forgotten until they end up making a psychedelic color in the wash.

The sugar high will peak during Pastor Greg's sermon (serious, of course) or at some other inopportune time like the children's sermon or communion.

The sugar low will inevitably occur when I need to carry anything in from the car later that afternoon and need some "helpers." I will not be surprised if my wife experiences this, too.

Of course, the real letdown occurs later that evening when I have a chance to reflect — not just on the day, but on my life in general.

You see, I recognize that my shortcomings are many and my strengths are few. Like everyone, my to-do list is getting longer instead of shorter, and I've accomplished only a few things that others would deem a success. I mess up more than I clean up, and mistakes are pretty much synonymous with any task I undertake (just ask my editor).

And then it hits me. This is the tradition I've been searching for: the moment at the end of the day when I have a chance to forget my mistakes and make amends, promising to try harder, do better and attempt to be a better person in all that I do.

This is what Easter is about, and no amount of bad weather, fouled up egg hunts or poorly painted eggs can take away from the fact that Easter is the arrival of spring; the time when we overcome a hard, cold winter and we live to face another great day placed before us. Easter symbolizes another shot at life, regardless of the mistakes we've made. What a great tradition to embrace every day!

Have a wonderful Easter today, and enjoy this spring for the new beginning it represents.