My Saturday

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I woke up in the morning. “Is it Saturday?” I asked my sister.

“Yep,” she replied as she changed into her clothes.

Good, I thought. This will be an exciting day. On Saturdays I often went with Mom to Grandpa’s house. It was always easier to get up on exciting days than just ordinary ones. So I jumped out of bed and ran to get my clothes on.

The fire was already started in the family room when I went in. Daddy was seated in his big armchair. I sat down next to my sister and picked up a book, but Dad called me over to sit in his lap.

“Did you have a good sleep?” he asked.

“Pretty good.”

“What would you do if you went to Grandpa’s today?”

I was kind of startled at the question, but I thought I should make it plenty good so he’d let me go. I told about playing with the cat, about watching nature videos, about helping Grandpa, and about practicing my piano there. I made sure to tell that one.

“Now,” said Dad, “tell me what your day would be like if you stayed here.”

I have to make it sound enough good to make it sound realistic, and enough bad that maybe he would want me to go to Grandpa’s, I thought. I told him I would do my piano, get the bathroom cleaned, maybe watch my sister when she planned school, maybe read a book. And then I’d help with making a birthday package. Then I thought that maybe that wouldn’t be the right thing to say. “Maybe I won’t be able to help with that one. It’s mostly done anyway,” I said.

“Go on,” said Dad. “What’s next?”

“Well….” I was about to say, “and do the pigeon cage, and clean out the chicken house,” but thought better of it. That, in itself, was a plenty good reason not to stay at home. I thought up some more good and bad things to say about staying at home.

Dad thought for a minute. “Well, I think it would be a better idea to stay here and help with the birthday package and things.” How I wished I hadn’t talked about that part!

“But I can only help with a little bit of it, and maybe there won’t be anything for me to do,” I said in my most persuasive way.

“Even if you can’t do that, think about all those other neat things you can do, like practicing your piano and doing your schoolwork,” Dad said with a grin. It was no use now. Dad had decided that I should stay home.

Pretty soon we were all ready for family devotions. Someone was sent to get Mom and tell her it was time. When she came in, I put on my most sorrowful look. “Are you coming with me today, dear?” Mom asked.

“I thought it would be best for her to stay here,” said Dad.

I looked at Mom, hoping she would go for my side. But she was sitting in her chair smiling around at everybody and not paying the least attention to me. I guess I am staying home. Better make the best of things, I thought.

After devotions, Mom had to leave right away. Maybe if I just got up later or something, I could have gone with her, I complained to myself. It didn’t seem like an exciting day anymore.

At breakfast my big brother broke his plate while trying to be funny. He was making a tower out of the applesauce jar and vitamin bottles. When he jerked out the middle bottle, a little bottle on the top fell down a broke his plate. It was really funny. A little voice inside me said, If you had been at Grandpa’s, you wouldn’t have had to the fun of watching his plate break.

As the day wore on I did my piano, polished the furniture, and started arranging the living room with cards. A little later Mom called. My sister told me afterwards that Mom wasn’t feeling well and that Grandpa had a cold, so Mom wouldn’t be home until late. The little voice whispered again, If you were at Grandpa’s now, you would have been impatient with Mommy and bored stiff. I was starting to feel glad I wasn’t at Grandpa’s.

In the afternoon I was able to read and have a fun time. When Mommy came home later in the evening, she was feeling much better, and I had had a nice day. Things had turned out just right, even though it was not just as I had planned it.