Egg hunter

My 3-year-old son wasn't much of an egg hunter last Easter, but this year he's a monster.

He and I have already tried some practice egg hunts before the big bunny day rummage, and he not only found all the eggs I hid this year, but he found some of the eggs that I hid last year that had been declared permanently missing.

Unfortunately, he also found the melted chocolate inside, which he wanted to devour. I explained that he might get sick if he ate the year-old chocolate. He didn't seem to care. He wanted to eat chocolate. I did the old "change the subject" routine. He forgot about the chocolate. Then he was instantly happy again. (Veteran parents: How long before the old "change the subject" routine doesn't work anymore?)

During the practice Easter egg hunt, my son also found several toys he'd lost over the course of the last few months. He was very excited. He also found some stuff Mommy had lost over the course of the last few months. Mommy was very excited.

I hate when things go missing, and I love when missing items are found. And so when my son saw my exuberant reaction to his hunting recoveries, he tried to get more of that same reaction. When I wasn't looking he hid some of our things.

"Where's the toaster?" I asked him, somewhat upset.

"Find it," he said with a big smile on his face.

"I'll be really excited if you find it," I said, losing my patience at a rapid rate.

All of a sudden, his hunting powers vanished and he couldn't find where he'd hidden stuff- probably because we weren't having fun anymore.

Eventually, we found the items he hid, and I told him that we only hide Easter eggs and nothing else. He said he was sorry. Then he was instantly happy again. (Veteran parents: How long before my son isn't so agreeable?)

Easter egg hunt after Easter egg hunt, my son couldn't tire of the game. And Easter egg hunt after Easter egg hunt, my son kept finding odds and ends, items that had been lost. He even found a sweater vest he'd lost last year, the one he was supposed to wear for Easter Sunday last year. I put it on him to see if he could wear it this year. It wouldn't fit around his head, let alone around his body. Bummer.

I marveled at the sight of the lost treasures my son uncovered.

I thought, Wow, with my son's new hunting powers and hunting passion, nothing would ever go missing again. I was so excited.

"Wow, look at all this stuff you found," I said to my son. No response. I looked up from the newly discovered items. Has anyone seen my son? (Veteran parents: How long before my wife doesn't allow me to stay home alone with my son anymore?)

Happy Easter, everyone. And may the best egg hunter win.

E-mail Michael Picarella at pic@theacorn.com.