My grandson’s preschool makes announcements on a dry erase board set out by the sidewalk where I drop him off each morning. Even with my limited Spanish, I’m usually able to figure them out. 

I’ve yet to show up on a day when “no hay clases” have  been announced, and, so far, he’s always brought the “foto de la mama” that he needs for an art project, even though I’ve never gotten the dimensions right on the first try.

Last week was different. The announcement asked us to bring 20 of something to school before March 17. We had been through this before. On the 100th day of school, there was an announcement that we should bring 100 of something. I jumped on that one and bought a great big bag of M&M’s and claimed all the extras for myself.  

I was already thinking about what candy I’d like next, when I noticed that this announcement was a little different. We didn’t seem to have a choice of what to bring. This time we were instructed to bring 20 “huevos,” which I thought I remembered was the word for eggs. But that couldn’t be right. If everyone in his class brought 20 eggs they would end up with 300 eggs, which would be disastrous in a classroom of three year olds. 

I attempted clarification with the Spanish speaking staff by asking them questions in English. Only to discover that they use the same trick I do when not understanding a question asked in a foreign language. They just say “yes.” 

“Cooked, raw, or chocolate?” I asked.

“Yes.” They all said.

I was on my own.

The next day I noticed another word near “huevos” and wrote it down so I could look it up when I got home. I held out hope that it meant chocolate and that I’d have another excuse to buy a big bag of candy.

Unfortunately, the word meant “shells,” which made no sense to me at all. The only thing I could think of was that it meant those plastic eggs that show up everywhere around Easter, right next to the fake grass that shows up everywhere after Easter.  

So off I went to buy plastic eggs. At Walmart and Mega and every farmacia that I passed.  None of which had a single plastic egg  anywhere in the store.

I was at a loss, and we were fast approaching the “ultimo dia” for bringing the “huevos.”

I googled “Easter eggs in Mexico” hoping to find another retail location to try, but ended up at a site explaining cascarones, the Mexican egg tradition of filling empty eggshells with confetti and breaking them over someone’s head for good luck.

I’m pretty sure my grandson is about to discover a new Mexican tradition that he’s going to like almost as much as piñatas.

After spending an evening with my son-in-law emptying 20 eggs of their contents, I’m discovering omelets.