hard-boiled, sunny-side & scrambled

A friend of mine mentioned that she was going to be coloring eggs with her small children over the weekend. It made me remember when I would color eggs around Easter time. It was nothing more than a craft made special and exciting by the exclusivity of its occurring only once a year. I remember sticking stickers on the colored eggs and making one for each family member. I remember granny searching the cupboards for the bottle of vinegar needed to make the colors. I don't really remember eating many hard-boiled eggs as a kid though...odd.

There was a time when life seemed like nothing but fun and opportunities were endless. Doing dishes was exciting and going to the market was an adventure. There was a time when wanting to be a princess who traveled to the moon and was CEO of Crayola color magic and Lisa Frank sticker factory wasn't far fetched or unattainable. Many teachers encouraged us to dream and dream big, to let our imaginations soar. Pretend and make believe wasn't silly or stupid. I don't know at what exact point a child becomes an adult, I don't know exactly when we put away childish things nor how those childish things are determined; I only know there came a time for me when coloring eggs wasn't thought of, when playing with Barbies became boring and the odds of me actually going to the moon where realized as slim.

It seems like as adults we don't get colored eggs anymore. As adults our eggs are always white and occasionally brown but they're never colored. The assignments we get as adults are less carefree. We become responsible for big deal things, losing a little bit of that whimsy that a tie-dyed egg represents. As adults we relate more to the cooked egg than to the colored craft. Some of us become boiled in the high temperatures of anger and bitterness or some become hardened from a life bubbling too fast for too long with no break to cool and reflect. Some of us are like an egg cooked sunny side up and are too runny, going all over the place, lacking the ability to stick with something for very long or have a fixed, healthy goal. "Sunny-siders" appear jovial but aren't concerned with long term consequences or in handling messy cleanups. And lastly some adults are scrambling to get the next new, better and bigger thing, scrambling for that always out of reach boyfriend, relationship, career, or car - scrambling to do it all and have it all.

In the end coming out of the shell is an inevitable process but what comes out is a matter of preparation. How prepared are you? xo