Terrified of the Bunny

Around this time of year, a tradition we have here in the US is taking a picture with the Easter bunny -- not as popular or well-known as the ubiquitous picture with Santa, but entertaining nevertheless.

Our Easter bunny at Northtown Mall is a very dignified, studious-looking rabbit because he has enormous glasses. They indicate poor vision, which is why he has to eat so many carrots. But he's also got soft white fur and gigantic feet, which endears him to many 3- and 4-year olds. The 2-year-olds, on the other hand...! You knew I had some stories, right?

I write this because I am the photographer for this as well as for Santa, and I enjoy it (mostly). I can't give away all the secrets, but I will say that our official position is that the Easter bunny shall always be a "he" no matter who inhabits his suit, and he never speaks, unless it's an emergency.

We did have a situation a couple of days ago when the Easter bunny's "grandma" told him that she'll be over for dinner that night... IN THE PRESENCE of an impressionable 5-year-old, so I had to tell the child that it's pretty cool that she gets to have dinner with the Easter bunny. I hope the parent isn't too confused when the kid says he wants to have the bunny over for dinner, too.

One of the most fun things about this job is seeing the children react to our bunny.

When 2-year-olds see the bunny for the first time, there are usually two reactions. The first one involves a lot of staring and open-mouthed astonishment, which evolves into frantic clutching of the parent when he/she walks within 10 feet of the furry critter. This is usually followed by loud screaming and tears, not conducive to (of? for? pick one) an attractive Easter photo.

The second reaction usually happens when the parent is wise enough to recognize the increasing tension in the child's grip on his/her shoulder and slows down enough to give the child time to get used to a human-sized creature that normally is smaller than a breadbox. Still a lot of staring, but as the parent sidles toward the sitting bunny, the child tentatively reaches out and gives the bunny a high-five, with a lot of coaxing. And then we can proceed with the sitting, because it's within the realm of possibility now.

But what I love the most (no matter the age) are the expressions of rapture and adoration when they hug the bunny or give him a handshake. They are just thrilled to be in the presence of such an amazing creature, and it shows in the glow of their faces. It makes the other screaming ones almost worthwhile.

Sometimes, and I feel a little bad about this, but the screaming pictures are often pretty hilarious. It's so tragic that it's funny, even though we know the child was definitely not faking it. So I will often take a picture of the screaming child because I know there's a possibility that it will be funny cute.

Everyone loves the CUTE cute pictures, you know, the ones where the child is absolutely delighted to be sitting there, and smiling like a cherub. You've seen some of those, and I'm usually pretty good at getting those, most of the time.

But the FUNNY cute and TRAGIC cute ones stand out. Any psychologist (professional or otherwise) willing to offer an explanation about this is welcome to leave a comment. The only thing I can think is that we know the object of their absolute terror is... a fuzzy bunny. And so we don't take their fear seriously.

It's funny how even in a blog about the Easter bunny and terrified children I can see a God connection. When we see God, do we see a Being with whom we can sit and feel totally comfortable and loved, with complete devotion and affection our response? Or are we terrified to sit alone with Him, afraid that He'll find us out and reveal us to the world with all our darkness and warts? Or that He'll arbitrarily punish us just because He can?

(WARNING: Spoiler) I guess it comes down to how well you know the object of your affection, or terror. If the children really knew that a normal human being sits beneath that bunny suit, their terror would vanish. If we really knew God the way He wants us to know Him we would feel wrapped in love when we sit with Him.

Do you have a funny Easter bunny story?