My first job as a teen was working for my Grandpa at Merrill's Egg Farm. I started out with just cleaning the bathrooms and doing some filing for my mom in her office. Then my cousin decided she didn't want to do Saturdays in the sales room anymore and it was passed down to me. Every Saturday from 9am-5pm I was in that sales room selling flats of eggs. Back in the day I dreaded the job because I was usually alone (occasionally my grandpa would come through and check in though) and I hated sorting through eggs to get broken ones out and set up clean flats of eggs. Thinking back on it now though it really was the perfect job for me. I got lots of down time and I was able to read and do homework pretty much all day long. Not to mention I got to see my grandpa that much more. If only social media/wifi/smart phones existed back then to help keep me company. ;) ha ha ha Anyway, my senior year I quit so I could go work for my dad at the gym instead. My grandpa died in May of that year and the sales room in Eagle was shut down and the whole operation was moved to Emmett. Now there isn't even an egg farm in Emmett. Man I'm getting kind of emotional just thinking about it all.
Anyway, last night my dream... I was back in the sales room, not a teen but 32 and pregnant. My "boss" was the nasty old witch boss I had at the cafe in the gym who hated me and tried to make my life miserable (no idea why). I had a line out the door of customers who needed eggs and various other groceries (although back then we only sold eggs, so no idea where the groceries part came in) This lady kept running around stressing out about the crowd and making me mess up on the register. My dad was in the corner wearing his karate uniform reading the news paper. I had some trouble with some teenage boys who wouldn't leave so I could help the rest of the customers. Then my grandpa strolls in and saves the day. There's a lot more to the dream, but that's the gist of it. It was such a strange dream because I haven't really thought or dreamed of the egg farm in so long. I do think of my grandpa often though and miss him all the time. His death my senior year was gut wrenching, and I can only imagine the heartbreak I will go through when my grandma's pass. My great grandma Craycroft died when I was really young, and while I remember her visiting and her death I don't really remember much of the feelings involved. It's just so much harder when you are older and understand death I guess. Wow got kind of morbid there.
ANYWAY, my point being that little man is going to carry my grandpa's name as his middle name. It's something I've wanted to do since I was 18 and he died. I'm so excited we FINALLY get to use it.
*When I was in third grade the egg farm in Eagle caught fire. I remember that night so very vividly. Here's an article I found: Egg Farm Fire
*The park in Eagle, Reid Merrill Park... yup that's my grandpa. That was their land that they donated for the park. Great man.
I have a picture of my Grandpa and Grandma Merrill on my wall:
Sorry about the reflection, taking a picture of a framed picture. ;)
Now, you may ask... why is it that my maiden name is Craycroft and not Merrill despite this being my dad's parents??? Well, that's another story for another time.
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