On Saturday, we ended up at a noon Easter egg hunt in the Hillyard district of Spokane. This particular hunt was put on by the Guardians of the Children, a charity motorcycle group that fights against child abuse. It took place in a grassy lot surrounded by railroad cars at the corner of Market and Queen. When we walked up to the spot I had my doubts.
The eggs were sparsely scattered and Sloan had barely slipped into the 4-11 age group by having her birthday just a couple weeks ago. She would be competing for eggs against kids much bigger than her, and let’s face it, Sloan isn’t blessed with speed or agility to begin with.
I took Sloan to the starting line of her age group and Sid took Beau to his 0-3 age group starting line. As we stood waiting for the hunt to begin, I saw kids several years older than her practically salivating as they eyed the eggs they would be running after.
On your mark…get set…go…
Dust was kicked up as the kids ran in all different directions. Sloan tried her best but it was honestly just like a movie—she would bend down to pick up an egg only to have a kid swipe it up from under her nose. The hunt probably lasted for only two minutes before the grassy field was absent from colored plastic eggs. Sloan was empty-handed.
I could tell she was upset but she handled it as best as a young 4-year-old could. We found Sid and Beau…empty-handed as well. Sid and I compared notes on our experiences, both admitting that our children really had no chance. But there was nothing for us to be disappointed about. Sloan and Beau had been to other Easter activities earlier in the morning and were not hurting for candy.
Nonetheless, a couple of teenage girls passed us and noticed our empty Easter baskets. A couple minutes later, one of the teenagers came back with a golden egg and handed it to Sloan.
“My parents helped organize this so we knew where one of the golden eggs was hidden,” she said.
Sloan lit up and opened the egg. It didn’t just contain ONE $1 bill but TWO $1 bills. It was like she won the lottery.
“Give me that over candy any day,” I told her.
From feeling disappointed to feeling like a million bucks (or at least two bucks), Sloan left the hunt site with a big smile on her face. Although Sid and I would have been content with her learning a lesson about not always getting what you want, we were still fine with the scenario that played out. Luckily she got a piggy bank for her birthday. Don’t Blink.