deb roush

Rene Lee Roush is absolutely ready to leave small town Maumelle, Ark., this fall to head out-of-state to Ole Miss and begin her college life, and life in general, without us. How do I know she’s got this? Well, for starters, her ears are big enough. Whether I’m ready to let her go is a different story, but I think I am getting closer. Let me be clear: She’s my baby, and it is not going to be easy.

But back to the ears. I’m talking about bunny ears, so let me clarify.

We moved to Maumelle in the fall of 1998, and that Easter, Rene was a toddling one-year-old. My sister, Jennifer, and her husband, Ron, visited us, and we rose early for the annual city Easter egg hunt. My recollection of that morning is this: They sounded the horn that started the madness. There were vibrant colored, plastic eggs “hidden” everywhere at the popular park, Lake Willastein. Rene found her first egg, opened it, eyed that it had candy in it, plopped herself down to tear into the candy and had no interest in going anywhere else. After prompting, pulling, and pointing out that there were more candy-filled eggs, she moved on, ending up (with the help of her overly competitive, adult family members) with a full basket of eggs.

When Kyle, her older brother, and Rene were young, the Easter egg hunt was not to be missed if we were in town. Eggs were filled not only with candy, but also with pieces of paper with a “prize” written on them that you could redeem for a stuffed animal or cash. And of course, the Easter Bunny was there. Rene was terrified of the Easter Bunny in her early years. In fact, I could take the opportunity to post many photos of Rene with bunnies and Santas with her screaming in fear, but that would just embarrass her. And me for forcing her to endure them.

I never paid attention to how those amazing Easter egg hunts, bringing together the city’s families, were coordinated. I just enjoyed them. Now I know. It’s because of a dedicated group of high school students who are part of the Maumelle Youth Council – the kids with a top grade point average, leadership skills and a willingness to help others. Rene is one of them. They represent the city’s youth at the city council meetings, learn about civics and most importantly, give back to the community. They rake leaves at the local cemetery, for example. And they are the ones buying and stuffing thousands of eggs, then rising at the crack of dawn to scatter them for the little ones to hunt.

Also, they choose an Easter Bunny to visit with and take photos with the kids. This year, the bunny was Rene. She was perfect for the job, which, frankly, in my opinion, made her more important today, 2015’s Easter egg hunt, than the mayor. She is smart, having worked diligently at her education throughout the years. She is spirited, after dedicating herself to being not only a cheerleader, but a member of Belle Raisers, her school’s spirit club that encourages other students. And she loves helping people, whether it is painting the fingernails for the elderly ladies at an adult daycare center, working to build handicapped ramps every summer through Ozark Mission Project, or yes, serving as the Easter Bunny.

So when Rene left the house this morning very, very early, I was teary. I remembered that day so long ago when my little, blonde cutie hunted her own egg(s). I was filled with pride that she was willing to give up a Saturday morning to skip sleeping in and instead go hide the eggs for another one-year-old who would be so excited about her first egg she would plop herself down to enjoy it.

Even better was the fact that, like 16 years ago when Jen and Ron supported Rene, our family was there for her again today. I got an unexpected text from my mom with a photo of my dad and the Easter Bunny. Grandma and Grandpa went to the Easter egg hunt to encourage their bunny.

These last few months have been preparing us for Rene leaving. She committed to the University of Mississippi to study pediatric occupational therapy. She cheered at her last ballgames. Her graduation dress arrived. But it was this morning, when I saw her in the photo in her bunny suit with those long, white ears, that I realized they were a symbol illustrating how far she has come.

There she was, still in the town she grew up in, cheered on by family who loves her, in a crazy outfit to make others happy. I might not be completely ready yet for Rene to go out and conquer the world, but she is.

She wore the ears today to prove it.