April Fool's Day

In my 35 years with Hubby, I have been successful with only one April Fool’s prank. But it was such a great success, that one is enough.You see, it’s usually the other way around, here at the end of the road.

My husband is a masterful prankster, and over the years, I’ve learned to be ready come April 1st. However, one year, in the 80's, I pulled a whopper. At least, I thought it was great – and these many years later, I still get a laugh…

The best April Fool’s pranks are planned well in advance. Building up to the day is crucial.Easter came early in April that year, so the stores had plenty of Easter treats out by mid-March. Among the many treats were candy-coated eggs. They looked exactly like real chicken eggs and even had the same weight. They came in all the pastel shades of Easter, but I chose the ones that were true egg-shell coloured. They looked so real, the idea came to me instantly.

We had recently moved to the country, and every morning my husband made a big breakfast for us while I got ready for work. No cold cereal in those days -- it was bacon, eggs, and pancakes.

When I got home from town, I told him that I met our new neighbour in the grocery store. She told me that she sold eggs from her farm. Hubby agreed that it would be a good idea to buy our eggs from Ruthie. Then I told him that she’d had trouble with the shells breaking, but thought they were better since she had changed the chicken’s feed. Sure enough, Hubby remembered from his childhood just what chickens needed if their egg shells were fragile – oyster shell.

Over the next few days, I mentioned the eggs, each time saying that I couldn’t wait to get some -- they would be so fresh and tasty.The night of March 31st, I placed the candy-coated eggs in an egg tray in the fridge and chuckled on my way to bed.

I ignored the date in the morning – but did mention that the new eggs were in the fridge and we should try them. I will never forget watching my dear husband cracking the egg on the side of the frying pan. It started with just a tiny, quick crack – but nothing happened. Then a little bit harder – still nothing. By this time, I was the one ‘cracking up’ – laughing so hard I couldn’t even say, “April Fool’s!” Although he denies it today, he actually took a serrated knife out of the drawer to ‘saw’ the egg – all the while saying that Ruthie had overdone the oyster shell.

It was priceless – and today, we both laugh. Well, I laugh; he just shakes his head.Happy April Fool’s Day, everyone. I hope you have some fun of your own this day. And remember, it doesn’t matter which side of the prank you’re on. It’s all fun.