Family Egg-stravaganza

I would be sadly remiss if I didn't recall some happy memories of past Easter Sundays. In the south, we believe in family get-togethers...in a BIIIIIG way. Holidays were particularly exciting, especially for all 12 of us cousins on my Mom's side of the fam damily.
Easter celebrations were ALWAYS held at my grandparents' house, Walcie and Mable. Now Papaw, along with several other willing adults, would hide the eggs as we were safely esconced in the playroom. All doors and windows had to be shut, with absolutely NO PEEKING! With 12 cousins, sporting a dozen eggs each, it took a while for papaw and his crew to tuck away all the brightly colored treasures. And, in fine Southern fashion, there was aaaaalways a queen's nest. This is a place where several eggs are hidden with a prize of some sort included in the cache. The queen's nest was coveted by ALL, especially mamaw's big 'ole catahoula dog, Tiger. He somehow managed to find and eat all the eggs we missed.
Waiting in the playroom was torture, and it was unsafe to leave so many kids in such a small space unattended. So, somewhere through the years, mamaw started HUNTING the eggs with us kids, instead of HIDING said eggs with the adults. She would hang around in the playroom and make sure no one escaped or tried peeked out the pull-down plastic blinds.
One year, mamaw couldn't find her basket to collect eggs in. We all looked, but no basket. So what did she do? She improvised. When they finally came and told us to come outside, we did...single-file, onto the sidewalk. We would stand there and receive instructions on the perimeter of the hunting area, yadda-yadda. Only this time, when mamaw came down the steps, she was carrying a very different type of "Easter basket". In her right hand, she held the handle of a bright and shiny white porcelain slop jar. That's right....A SLOP JAR. It was spotlessly clean, and she had placed a kitchen towel in the bottom to stop the eggs from rooooolling around. Now if your not from the south, or if your not "country", you may not know what a slop jar is. It is a receptacle used for bathroom trips in the old days. Mamaw didn't miss a beat, and we had the laugh of our lives at her Easter basket.
I will never forget those days, being so young and carefree. It was simply magical. And the fun and laughter lives on in my memories, and in mamaw's memories, and in old photographs, and in her old house, and in that old slop jar, too. I love you mamaw, I love you family, I love you happy memories.