I never thought I’d be writing an entire rant about eggs, but here we are.
Egg prices are actually insane right now! And if you’ve been to a grocery store lately, you know they might as well be a luxury item.
But for us?
Cartons of eggs in a supermarket | Source: Midjourney
Eggs aren’t just some random breakfast staple. We have two toddlers, two growing kids who need eggs in their diet.
So, when my husband, Jordan, casually told me that we should cut back on groceries and skip the eggs, I was furious.
But I let it slide.
Until I found out where the eggs were actually going.
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And let’s just say, Jordan won’t ever be confused about his priorities again.
Two little boys | Source: Midjourney
Last Monday, I called Jordan while he was on his way home from work.
“Hey, honey,” I said. “Can you grab a few dozen eggs? The kids are almost out, and you know they have a set breakfast routine. And please, grab some bananas too.”
There was a pause. I heard Jordan turn off the radio. Then, the audacity.
A man driving a car | Source: Midjourney
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“Julia, have you seen the prices of eggs lately? We don’t need them that bad. The boys can do without. Elijah doesn’t even like eggs; he’s just used to the routine. And Levi will eat anything. We should start cutting back on groceries.”
Cut back?
On food? For our toddlers?
My grip tightened around my phone.
“We’re not cutting back on basic nutrition for our kids, Jordan. Maybe you should cancel your gym subscription. It’s not like you use it anyway.”
A woman talking on the phone | Source: Midjourney
My husband sighed like I was being the unreasonable one.
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“It’s just eggs, Julia. They’ll be fine. Give them more fruit or something.”
I pressed my lips together to keep myself from shouting or arguing further.
You want to play the “we need to save money” game, Jordan? Okay, let’s play, I thought.
An annoyed man driving a car | Source: Midjourney
I got the boys into the car, and we went to pick up the eggs ourselves. I added chocolate bars and fresh fruit. I even threw in some yogurt and bottles of milkshake.
No big deal.
Or so I thought.
That weekend, we visited Jordan’s mother, Carolyn. I didn’t mind Carolyn too much. She generally stayed in her lane as far as mothers-in-law go, and she didn’t try to micromanage how I raised my boys.
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A basket of groceries | Source: Midjourney
So, when she asked us to bring the kids over so she could spend some time with them, I agreed. And since she’s not the kind of grandma who cooks for her grandkids, I packed them lunch boxes.
When we got to her house, I went to put the lunch boxes into the fridge. I mean, who wanted to eat room-temperature ham and cheese sandwiches?
And that’s when I saw it.
A sandwich on a plate | Source: Midjourney
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A fridge full of eggs.
I’m talking fully stocked. Like, cartons stacked upon each other. My mother-in-law was either preparing for the apocalypse or about to make omelets for a hundred people.
I looked at them and swallowed hard.
Cartons of eggs in a fridge | Source: Midjourney
What the hell?
“Wow, Carolyn!” I said. “Where did you find so many eggs? I swear, I can’t even find a dozen at a decent price these days!”
She beamed, completely oblivious to the war breaking out in my brain. Jordan and I were on opposing ends, each preparing for battle.
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“Oh, Jules,” she said. “I know the struggle. It’s been so difficult to find eggs, let alone get decent sizes and prices to match. But Jordan got these for me. He’s such a sweetheart! He brought them over yesterday so that I wouldn’t have to go looking.”
A smiling older woman | Source: Midjourney
My stomach dropped.
I turned to Jordan, who was raiding his mother’s snack cupboard. And this man, this man who had told me that eggs were too expensive for our children, had the nerve to look guilty.
I exhaled slowly.
Not here, Julia. Not here and not now.
An open kitchen cupboard | Source: Midjourney
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I knew Jordan. If I called him out in front of his mom, he’d go straight into defensive mode. Carolyn would rush to his side, making excuses for him while supplying the kids with store-bought snacks, and suddenly, I’d be the bad guy.
So instead, I smiled.
“Wow, Jordan, that was really thoughtful of you!”
His shoulders relaxed. He actually thought he had dodged a bullet.
An upset woman standing in a kitchen | Source: Midjourney
Oh, you poor, naïve fool.
The entire ride home, I was silent.
I wasn’t fuming. I was calculating.
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And by Monday morning?
Operation Priorities was in full effect.
Monday morning dawned, and Jordan sat at the table expecting his usual eggs, toast, and sausages before work.
A plate of food | Source: Midjourney
Instead?
I made him a single slice of dry toast and a cup of black coffee. No sugar.
“Uh… where’s breakfast, Jules?” he asked, blinking at his plate.
I gave him my sweetest smile.
“Oh, honey,” I said. “I had to cut back on groceries. Eggs are too expensive, remember? And honestly, so is milk. And sugar. Don’t get me started on sausages. How are we supposed to live?”
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A slice of toast and a cup of coffee | Source: Midjourney
His face twitched.
“Julia,” he said, wrinkling his nose. “Come on! That was about the kids, not me!”
I tilted my head.
“Well, if our own children don’t need eggs, Jordan, I don’t think you need them either.”
He sighed and took a bite of his pathetic, eggless toast.
An annoyed man sitting at a table | Source: Midjourney
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“I’m going to sort the kids out now,” I said. “Have a great day.”
He mumbled something under his breath, but I was already walking down the hallway.
The next morning?
Jordan had to have the same sad breakfast.
And the next.
And the next.
A woman walking down a hallway | Source: Midjourney
There were eggs in the fridge. If Jordan hadn’t been so lazy, he could have opened the fridge and found them there. He could have made his own breakfast. He could have sorted himself out.
But he didn’t. Because that was Jordan, lazy and selfish.
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By the fifth sad, eggless morning, he finally snapped.
“Okay, okay! I get it!” he said.
A man standing in a kitchen | Source: Midjourney
I looked up, feigning innocence.
“Get what, Jordan?” I asked, making myself a cup of tea.
“I shouldn’t have bought eggs for my mom while telling you to cut back, Jules. It was selfish, okay? But when my mom called, I just… I just couldn’t say no. Can I please have eggs now?”
A cup of tea | Source: Midjourney
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I leaned back in my chair, arms crossed.
“Oh, I don’t know, Jordan,” I said, dipping my shortbread into the cup. “I was actually thinking of sending the ones I just bought to your mom. Since, you know, she’s the priority here.”
He groaned, rubbing his face.
A tin of shortbread cookies | Source: Midjourney
“Alright, alright, Julia,” he said. “I messed up. I know. I should have put the kids first.”
I let the silence hang for a moment.
Then?
I got up, walked to the fridge, and grabbed one egg.
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A woman standing in front of a fridge | Source: Midjourney
Just one single egg.
I placed it on his plate.
“There. That’s all you get today, Jordan,” I said. “Maybe tomorrow… if I feel like it, you’ll get two.”
His jaw dropped.
“Julia! What am I supposed to do with a raw egg?”
An egg on a plate | Source: Midjourney
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“Oh, hush. Figure it out. Frying an egg isn’t difficult. And you should be grateful that I didn’t send it to Carolyn.”
Jordan groaned, staring at the single, lonely egg on his plate like it had personally offended him.
“Julia,” he tried again, his voice softer this time. “Listen. I can explain.”
I didn’t say anything. I just leaned against the counter, arms crossed, waiting.
For an explanation? More excuses?
A woman leaning against a kitchen counter | Source: Midjourney
He sighed, rubbing a hand down his face, his usual stressed expression.
“It’s not just about the eggs, Jules,” he said. “Work’s been rough. They’ve been making cuts at the office, and I keep thinking… what if I’m next? What if something happens? I’ve been trying to save wherever I can, just in case…”
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I blinked, my stance softening a little.
“You never told me that, Jordan.”
A stressed man | Source: Midjourney
“Because I didn’t want to stress you out too. You already do so much with the kids, the house… everything. I thought I could just handle it, you know?”
“By not buying eggs for our children?” My voice wasn’t angry now, just disappointed.
Jordan exhaled, staring at his plate.
“It was a stupid decision, okay? I just… I panicked. My mom called and said she was struggling to find eggs, and I just…”
A man sitting at a table | Source: Midjourney
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“And you what? You forgot about your own family, Jordan?”
His jaw tightened, and he took a deep breath in.
“She was a single mom, Julia. She worked three jobs to keep me fed and educated. I know she’s not struggling now, but when she asked for something… I didn’t know how to say no.”
I studied him, watching the tension in his face. For the first time since this whole ridiculous egg saga started, I saw the guilt beneath it all. Not just about the eggs, but about letting people down. About letting his mom down. Me. Our kids.
A smiling mother and son | Source: Midjourney
“Jordan,” I said, my voice quieter now. “I get it. I do. But do you know what’s worse than telling your mom ‘no’? Telling your children that their father wouldn’t even buy food for them.”
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His gaze snapped up to meet mine.
“I didn’t think of it like that.”
“Well, you should,” I sighed, running a hand through my hair. “Look, I know money is tight. But we’re a team, Jordan. You don’t get to decide these things alone, and you damn sure don’t get to put your mom before your own kids.”
