My first holiday away from home

This was the first year I have EVER been away from my family and friends on Easter (or really any period of time longer than a few weeks). I was almost dreading Sunday to come because homesickness was kicking in and I was imagining my family spending Easter together without me.  Needless to say I wasn’t expecting this Easter to be more than any other Sunday…who would’ve thought that this would probably be the best Easter I have ever had?! I feel that by the end of this weekend it brought our team closer together and makes me feel grateful for the sponsors we have at Winterthur.

I woke up Sunday morning, not expecting much.  I knew we had planned to make Easter baskets for each other, but other than that I was just planning to catch up on extra sleep I didn’t get throughout the week. When I went downstairs the first thing I saw was the dining room table with all of our bags plus Easter baskets, candy, and Edgar (the Raven unit mascot) chilling on the table with some ‘Peeps’.



Easter bags and candy with Edgar, the Raven Unit Mascot




Apparently our sponsor told all the staff that we weren’t able to go home for Easter, so they all chipped in to bring Easter to us at the Butler House where we stay.



Part of the lovely Easter spread Ashley and the Raven 1 team received



Rob, one of the supervisors of the garden department we work with here, stopped by the house to wish us a Happy Easter with a dinner for us to eat that night. This really meant a lot to me and made me grateful to be part of such an amazing team. It was one of those moments where all the days of hard work, some that I honestly thought went unnoticed, seemed to be worth it at this moment. For Rob to stop by and for all the staff to go out of their way to make us feel at home is something that wasn’t required and I could tell came from a sincere place. Actions go a long way, and all the staff at Winterthur really made the Easter I was dreading for weeks into a positive experience.



Dyed eggs from Raven 1's Easter day



The day I expected to catch up on sleep turned into a fun filled day of dying eggs, playing board games, and probably every child’s fantasy Easter egg hunt at the enchanted woods (decked out with a troll bridge, cool looking mushrooms that steam up, and miniature cottages for little people). I felt like I was at the Cornucopia at the hunger games. Cool stuff. Thank you Raven 1 and thank you Winterthur for making my Easter one of the most memorable experiences first round!

~ Ashley