The Unofficial "AARP" Guide to Easter Egg Hunting

For those who would like to know how the game is played, here you go:

First, the concept is pretty simple, it is just like the game daily played here called “where did I put the car keys/purse/coat?” with some variations.

1. You are purposely hiding the objects.

2. You will try to remember where you placed the objects and recover ALL of them.

My first year in school, my first school Easter celebration, the teacher hid all the eggs we had colored in class. Then the class had an Easter egg hunt. Everyone located their eggs but mine. It was at that time I knew the universe had a sense of humor and had singled me out to be a part of the punchline. I was special and singled out in the kindergarten class in a way I did not choose to be. Plus, my finely crafted food colored egg was gone. I was grief stricken. The days wore on. Talk of the missing egg faded.

I remember it was a nice warm day. Most days in southern California are warm in the spring of the year. The class sat down on mats around the piano to sing songs with the teacher. She opened the piano bench to retrieve the new music for the day. Inside the bench sat my egg.

Even hardboiled eggs can reach a certain bomb like state when left in the heat for too long a time. This egg was showing signs of transmorphing into something much more memorable than an Easter egg. It had gained a few interesting colors I did not remember adding to it at the time of decorating. With the skill of a trained squad agent, the teacher gingerly took hold of the egg and placed it into a large bed of facial tissues. Lifting the tissues by the corners, she then placed the egg into a box left over from Valentine’s Day. I don’t remember if I took that box home. Since I don’t remember, I am pretty sure I did not.

3. Traditionally, as in the story above, colored hardboiled eggs are used for the hidden object. Since we now need incentive to hunt, I suggest using only chocolate eggs and good chocolate eggs at that to insure that all will be retrieved in a timely fashion.

4. It helps to make a map of your hiding places. This should not be a casual activity like laying your keys down just anywhere, but needs to be thought through.

5. Count the number of chocolate eggs before you hide them. You can make a tally of the empty wrappers as you complete the search.

Have fun!