March 20, 2008
when I was a kid …
Recently I have started spouting off about how things were when I was a kid. I can’t stop myself — no matter who I am talking to or what we’re talking about, I find myself declaring that THINGS USED TO BE DIFFERENT, DAMMIT.
Today we colored Easter eggs with my neighbor and her son. I hardboiled two dozen eggs for three little boys, because apparently I am insane; when I told my neighbor how many eggs there were, she said, “Oh good because I’ve never dyed Easter eggs either!”
Which of COURSE was just the opening I needed to start holding forth about what things were like in MY childhood.
Poor Rita. She has to listen to me and she’s pregnant and can’t even drink. Or at least not enough to drown out my reminiscing.
The dye kits came with all sorts of bling — glitter and special cups for the dye and stickers. I kept announcing, “When I was a kid, my mom just put the dye in a coffee cup!” and “When I was a kid, we didn’t have STICKERS, just DYE.”
I’m lucky no one threw eggs at me.
When Rita and Will arrived at our door, Henry and Will ran immediately upstairs to play, which was good because it gave Rita and me a few minutes to figure out all the ways we were doing this whole egg dying things wrong. Like putting the eggs in the fridge after I cooked them. Right there on the box it said, DO NOT USE COLD EGGS.
Right.
That was as far as we read because by then Charlie was dancing around the kitchen saying “IS IT READY YET IS IT READY YET CAN I HAVE AN EGG IS IT READY YET?” We mixed up the dye and hauled everything out to the garage and gave the kids each an egg and some rubber bands and a metal thingy to fish the eggs out with and said, GO! COLOR!
Except the color wasn’t sticking on the eggs. “Hmm,” Rita said, “could that be because they are cold?”
It COULD be. Or it could be because we forgot to add the vinegar — vinegar that I bought JUST FOR THIS and that Rita had asked me about on the phone moments before she came over.
Despite the fact that we are idiots, the eggs didn’t turn out too bad and the boys had a great time. We broke four eggs, but no one cried or yelled or stormed off mid-dying. I call it a success.
Tomorrow: progressive egg hunt. But we’re only hunting for plastic eggs, not the real ones, because god forbid we lose an egg in the yard. Although when I was a kid we totally ate those eggs. And they were delicious.
Posted by Susan @ 8:13 pm • home sweet home, when you're here you're family
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March 20th, 2008 at 8:43 pm, Alison Says:
I’m so glad to hear that I’m not the only one who keeps thinking about how different things were in my childhood!
We hid the real eggs too. I liked them almost as much as the ones with candy inside.
March 20th, 2008 at 8:49 pm, Crisanne Says:
My parents have this picture of my sister sitting outside on Easter morning with a blue ring around her face from eating her real Easter egg! Don’t you know my Mom was sooo happy about that one at church!
March 20th, 2008 at 8:55 pm, Rhi Says:
I’m pretty sure when I was a kid we only had food coloring and a white crayon.
March 20th, 2008 at 9:02 pm, Joan Says:
I cannot open a bottle of vinegar without remembering dying eggs with my sisters on Easter Saturday afternoon.
March 20th, 2008 at 9:22 pm, Angella Says:
I plan on dying eggs for the very first time tomorrow!
I’m skeered.
This post, however, had taken the edge off.
March 20th, 2008 at 9:34 pm, Jan Says:
I grew up in the Pacific Northwest and I’m here to tell you that I have never in my entire life hunted for Easter eggs outdoors!
And yes, there’s always an egg that you find behind the sofa about Flag Day. As long as you don’t break it, no harm, no foul.
Funny story: My mom has hired various cleaning ladies over the years, many of whom were recent immigrants. One year in probably September we discovered a small pile of jelly beans ‘hidden’ under a bric-a-brac little dinner bell that was sitting on the side table in the dining room. Probably 15 times the cleaning lady had picked up that piece, moved the jelly beans to dust, and replaced the whole works exactly as she found it. She probably thought Americans in general (or perhaps just our family in specific) were stark raving mad.
March 20th, 2008 at 9:43 pm, Henny Penny Says:
we’ll be hunting the real eggs and I always thought they tasted bad, but maybe my mom just way overcooked them.
March 20th, 2008 at 10:45 pm, All Adither Says:
This is probably the only time of year kids get excited about eggs.
March 21st, 2008 at 6:27 am, Jeanne Says:
I bought a basic egg dying set - just the color tablets and the white crayon - at the store the other day. And I was going to leave it at that but then I saw a cute little stamping set that you can use to put little flowers and such on the eggs and I couldn’t pass it up. We plan to get our eggs dyed tomorrow!
March 21st, 2008 at 7:23 am, Paula Says:
Did you used to have the puke colored egg, too? My dad would join in at the end of the eye dying festivites (dye in coffee cups as well)and dip an egg in every color. I always thought that was funny because no one wanted to eat that grossly colored egg.
I haven’t wanted to partake in egg dying with my son (4 1/2) since we did cookie decorating at Christmas and I was tired for days after. I feel a little guilty about him missing out on “all that fun”…but not guilty enough to do it.
March 21st, 2008 at 7:33 am, EZibbets Says:
Fun pictures!
My bil and sil hid a bunch of real eggs outside one year and when the kids went to find them every one had been eaten by wild animals.
March 21st, 2008 at 7:40 am, Sue Says:
Purdy eggs! I didn’t know they weren’t supposed to be cold!? I agree with you on the bling - so many options - glitter , speckled, tie-dye, camo… they all come out the same when we dye them. But maybe it’s because I never read the instructions. I’m looking forward to egg salad because no one but me eats the eggs anyway.
March 21st, 2008 at 12:04 pm, arduous Says:
@ Jan, that story made my day. Hysterical.
March 21st, 2008 at 12:50 pm, Melissa Says:
I miss the ‘olden days’- coloring eggs without worrying about spilling dye on the floor (because I wasn’t the mom who had to clean up the RED DYE off the area rug)! We’ll be doing this tonight- Fun
Jan- We have now spent four years in the Pacific Northwest as well, and I miss hunting for eggs outdoors. And sure enough, it looks like it will be raining again this Sunday
Your cleaning lady story is cracking me up!
March 21st, 2008 at 1:01 pm, Susie Says:
I just last night used the “when I was young” when talking to my husband about dinner. We never really had a choice, we ate it. And we would never say anything about it. Liam seems to think everything is negotiable.
March 23rd, 2008 at 8:59 pm, STL Mom Says:
Apparently I talk about “when I was young” way too much, because once my daughter asked me if dinosaurs were still alive when I was young, and another time asked if there were cars when I was young. Jeepers, all I did was tell her about having to stand in one place to talk on a phone that was attached to the wall!
March 25th, 2008 at 3:26 pm, Tricia Says:
Yeah, I have that ‘when i was little’ disease too- I just assumed it was yet another symptom of getting old… 41, holy hell, how DID that happen?