My own kids are too old to get excited about dyeing Easter eggs. But the two little neighbor kids who live just down the street are five and eight, just the right age, so on Saturday, they came over to help to dye eggs at my house. We did three dozen eggs altogether, and I think it’s the longest I’ve ever seen Little Biker Boy sit still. He and Ponytail scribbled furiously on each egg with crayon before dropping it into a mug of dye, and they mixed the mugs of dye so many times that by the end, the eggs were coming out a lovely shade of brown.
It was a sunny afternoon, perfect for a walk, so I asked the kids if they wanted to give the eggs out to our neighbors. We live on a deadend road just outside Traintrack Village, and the houses are spread pretty far apart, but many of the neighbors know the kids because they are always out playing in the road. I found a couple of baskets to put the eggs in, and we went from house to house, letting the neighbors choose an egg from each basket.
Even though the wind was cold, the sun was shining the whole time and I even saw a few daffodils beginning to open on one lawn. Most of our neighbors seemed happy to take a few minutes and chat on this spring day. I heard about home improvement projects, plans for summer vacations, and who was coming for Easter dinner. The woman on the corner was baking pies. The young couple in the new house are expecting a baby at the end of the summer. Little Biker Boy kept running ahead, and I had to keep giving him etiquette tips, and we lost a few eggs when Ponytail swung her basket too enthusiastically, but mostly, we had a pleasant afternoon walking about in the sunshine.
4 comments:
At our old house we held an easter egg hunt with the neighbors, most of whom had kids around the same age as mine; this year I was mourning the loss. It never occurred to me to dye a bunch and give them away to the childless neighbors in this new house. What a fantastic idea.
What a lovely idea. I would have been glad to pass the time over a dyed egg or two.
Did you ever see that beautiful You Tube video of the little girl who rides her bike past the boy to get noticed? It's the coolest thing. She goes back and forth by him, and he won't give her the time of day. She wins in the end.
Reminds me of this.
that sounds so fun! i miss little kids. never thought of the trick or treat in reverse thing, either -- passing out gifts as a neighborly gesture.
Post a Comment