a peek inside the fishbowl

I eat a boiled egg at around 10 a.m. every weekday morning.

I’ve done this often enough now that I’ve learned a few valuable lessons. I wanted to share with you today, not just about the process of boiling eggs, but about myself.

My daily egg might seem like an odd snacking habit but…

1. 1 – It gives me a reason to get up from my work desk. Also, I know what I’m about to go eat so there’s no time spent wondering or rummaging.
2. 2 – Eggs are a healthy snack…
3. 3 – … and for some reason this little hit of protein at this exact time means ‘m not totally ravenous at lunch but it seems to stave off the midday slumps and snack attacks.

Let’s call this LESSON NUMBER ONE: Eggs do something good to my body.

For as long as I have known Mark – and we’re talking just over a couple of decades – he has insisted that piercing the shell at the wide end of the egg prevents it from cracking when it hits the boiling water. So of course, I steadfastly refused to poke my eggs. But I’ve now boiled so many batches of eggs that I realized I was regularly losing one or two due to the shells cracking in the water. So I begrudgingly started piercing the shell as directed and VOILA, problem solved. I have not had an egg crack since I started piercing the shells. (Note: I use a corn holder for this.)

LESSON NUMBER TWO: I should be more open to suggestions, especially when they are well-intended, and come from someone who has also boiled eggs a few times. MY experience isn’t the only experience. Other people’s experiences are also valid. (It doesn’t mean that I need to ACCEPT them, but considering other experiences is a good idea.)

I’ve also realized that the perfect egg is dropped into a rolling boil, and then after a minute or two the temperature is turned down to a simmer for an overall cooking time of exactly nine minutes. After a cold water bath, the egg is peeled and salted and eaten over the kitchen sink and it is heaven.

LESSON NUMBER THREE: There is such a thing as a perfectly boiled egg.

LESSON NUMBER FOUR: Take a moment to savour the little things, because life is really just a collection of little things that add up to one big thing.