Oh, I was dressed like a princess from head to toe. It was Easter of 1954 and I would for the first time partake in our family Easter egg hunt. I was delighted that I was now old enough to join. I had just mastered the art of walking and as they say, I was dressed to the hilt.
No one would mistake me for the average little girl. I was decked out with a beautiful hat upon my head, a dress with lace and frills, little white socks and patent leather shoes, and a beautiful spring coat to finish off my outfit.
This was all in thanks to my aunt who was a well-to-do woman and had two daughters of her own that in my lucky stars happened to be a few years older than I. Virginia liked my mother as she was a beautiful humble woman from a small farming town in Missouri. My mom was brave enough to marry Virginia’s youngest brother, a man of the big city. To show my mother that she was happily welcomed into their family, she shared her daughters beautiful clothes with our family.
It was a special feeling when Virginia’s finely wrapped box came to our door a couple times a year. I soon realized that being the oldest daughter did have some advantages, as I was always the first to wear these beautiful clothes. And so it was, with my Easter basket in hand and dressed oh so nicely, I ran out in my grandmother’s yard at the sound of the bell to begin my hunt for my first Easter egg.
The world seemed perfect that day and with full enthusiasm I set about my journey to find the Easter eggs. There was just one problem in the way of my perfect day – it appeared that my older brother, who was faster than I, had an incredible zeal for snatching Easter eggs from my grasp.
Seeing that the odds were stacked against me, I quietly set out in a different direction to secure my first egg. And there it was, a little green egg under the bushes. I thought to myself, “I found one!” I knew it was my egg, as it was talking to me, “Come find me, Mary, I am here for you.”
Being careful not to announce my find triumphantly, as my brother was doing, I focused on my goal and started making my way. All of a sudden a big breeze came rushing upon my face and I stared. It was my brother racing by to grab that green egg before I arrived. He shouted my shout, as loud as he could, but with a little variation, adding a word, he said, “I found another one!”
I stood there and watched, I could not believe my eyes. The look on my face spoke hundreds of words. That was my egg, I thought. That is not fair. I saw it first. I got no help from anyone, as my mom was occupied with my younger sister. And my dad, who must have thought this was a bit humorous, took a picture of me at that exact moment in time.
I quickly realized that if I was going to have any fun at all, I would need to be faster and smarter. And then I saw another egg, but this time I took a different approach. I yelled out “I see one, it’s mine” and pointed across the yard into some bushes. My brother took off after it and I then quickly went over to where I saw the real Easter egg and proudly plucked it into my basket. Yes indeed, the sweet taste of success.
I learned that beautiful spring day to be thankful and appreciate your good fortune for those things given to you in life. But in the competitive game called life I was going to need to be smarter and faster to be successful. And so from this early experience, which is so clear in my mind to this day, I committed myself to being a strategic problem solver. I realized that in times of great need I would have to count on myself to come up with an answer, a way. It was a lesson that has resonated throughout my life.
No one would mistake me for the average little girl. I was decked out with a beautiful hat upon my head, a dress with lace and frills, little white socks and patent leather shoes, and a beautiful spring coat to finish off my outfit.
This was all in thanks to my aunt who was a well-to-do woman and had two daughters of her own that in my lucky stars happened to be a few years older than I. Virginia liked my mother as she was a beautiful humble woman from a small farming town in Missouri. My mom was brave enough to marry Virginia’s youngest brother, a man of the big city. To show my mother that she was happily welcomed into their family, she shared her daughters beautiful clothes with our family.
It was a special feeling when Virginia’s finely wrapped box came to our door a couple times a year. I soon realized that being the oldest daughter did have some advantages, as I was always the first to wear these beautiful clothes. And so it was, with my Easter basket in hand and dressed oh so nicely, I ran out in my grandmother’s yard at the sound of the bell to begin my hunt for my first Easter egg.
The world seemed perfect that day and with full enthusiasm I set about my journey to find the Easter eggs. There was just one problem in the way of my perfect day – it appeared that my older brother, who was faster than I, had an incredible zeal for snatching Easter eggs from my grasp.
Seeing that the odds were stacked against me, I quietly set out in a different direction to secure my first egg. And there it was, a little green egg under the bushes. I thought to myself, “I found one!” I knew it was my egg, as it was talking to me, “Come find me, Mary, I am here for you.”
Being careful not to announce my find triumphantly, as my brother was doing, I focused on my goal and started making my way. All of a sudden a big breeze came rushing upon my face and I stared. It was my brother racing by to grab that green egg before I arrived. He shouted my shout, as loud as he could, but with a little variation, adding a word, he said, “I found another one!”
I stood there and watched, I could not believe my eyes. The look on my face spoke hundreds of words. That was my egg, I thought. That is not fair. I saw it first. I got no help from anyone, as my mom was occupied with my younger sister. And my dad, who must have thought this was a bit humorous, took a picture of me at that exact moment in time.
I quickly realized that if I was going to have any fun at all, I would need to be faster and smarter. And then I saw another egg, but this time I took a different approach. I yelled out “I see one, it’s mine” and pointed across the yard into some bushes. My brother took off after it and I then quickly went over to where I saw the real Easter egg and proudly plucked it into my basket. Yes indeed, the sweet taste of success.
I learned that beautiful spring day to be thankful and appreciate your good fortune for those things given to you in life. But in the competitive game called life I was going to need to be smarter and faster to be successful. And so from this early experience, which is so clear in my mind to this day, I committed myself to being a strategic problem solver. I realized that in times of great need I would have to count on myself to come up with an answer, a way. It was a lesson that has resonated throughout my life.
