Collecting Memories

Everyone collects something, right? Baseball cards, stamps, coins…we all have the need to acquire things that make us feel good. What do you collect?

My collection…egg cups. Those little ceramic holders designed for enjoying a soft-boiled egg. My egg cups are on display in a corner kitchen cabinet with a glass door. They are colorful and sweet in various designs.

As a child, I would sit at my grandparent’s kitchen table, looking at my little egg cup, waiting to fill the perfectly-shaped cradle with a soft-boiled egg. Grandpa taught me how to poke a hole into the egg with the tip of my knife, preparing to slice off a small section of the top. That piece would be set on the table, then sprinkled with salt and pepper. One scoop with my spoon and it was gone. Next, salt and pepper rained down on the larger part of my egg. Scooping, scraping, and dunking the crust of my toast until it was all gone. All the while Grandpa told me stories about the past. Little did I know, I was collecting memories in an egg cup.