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| AJ has always enjoyed ruining our pictures with silly faces |
Kinder Eggs
The first thing I remember tasting is a small chocolate egg, more fondly known as kinder eggs. My dad was stationed in Aschaffenburg, Germany as a young army officer and kinder eggs are a bonus that comes with the station.
My brother, AJ, and I would sit in small plastic rocking chairs after lunch and we were each allowed one kinder egg and one “Juice box.” I always had an orange Kapri-Sun. Thinking back now the combination doesn’t sound particularly appetizing.
The eggs were wrapped in foil, and it was very important to not break their fragile bodies prior to eating them. The outside of the egg is smooth milk chocolate and the inside layer is white. I don’t know if it is white chocolate or some other sweet treat. However, I do know that there is no comparable chocolate in the States. Possibly the best part of the whole experience is the yellow plastic capsule inside each egg. Each yellow capsule holds a small toy. These small trinkets were normally wind up animals, or a man with a funny hat. My brother and I would spend hours, or what seemed like hours in my 5 year old mind, assembling these tiny toys (without success). Mom would eventually come and assist us but I remember being fascinated by the German instructions. The written instructions were on one side of the small piece of paper included with the toy. But I focused on following the intricate picture instructions, to no avail.
On the second floor of my parents house now is a small brown display case that hangs on the outside of the bathroom with particularly interesting Kinder egg toys kept over the years. Those toys have been moved five times since their release from the tiny yellow capsules. I see them as a reminder of when AJ and I officially became comrades. We are 3 years apart, and he was barely 2 when we first began our rocking chair-Kinder egg ritual; we have been silently close ever since.
This is not to say that I haven’t preformed my sisterly duty of torturing him on occasion. When our mom would leave us in the car for 5 minutes to run an errand I reveled in the opportunity to tell AJ that the police had taken her away and she was never coming back. His giant blue eyes would tear up and he would scream, until Mom returned, reprimanded me and all was forgotten (until next time).
AJ is now 16 years old and 6’2”, and we are still close. I am in college, and we talk less often then what feels natural. But whenever I go home he stands outside the bathroom late at night when everyone else is in bed and we chat as I wash my face and brush my teeth. This nightly routine has replaced our old afternoon ritual of eating and assembling but it serves the same purpose.
My father has once again received orders to go to Germany. For the next 3 to 5 years Garmisch, Germany will be home to my parents, AJ, Megan, and Will. I will be visiting for two weeks before school starts, and AJ and I will be joined by our younger siblings: Megan and Will in the familiar ritual of sitting and eating our Kinder egg, then assembling and playing with the trinket inside.
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