Miranda Makes Up Her Mind

Miranda Quinn could never make up her mind. She woke up in the morning and stared into her closet. Maybe, she would wear her black jeans, or maybe she would wear her blue ones. Maybe, she would wear her striped shirt, and maybe she would wear her polka-dot one. Maybe, she would wear her sneakers;maybe she would wear her flats. Maybe, she would wear her hair up; maybe she would wear it down.

By the time she finished getting dressed and went downstairs, it was almost time to leave for school. "Sit down quickly. It's late." her mother told her. "What would you like for breakfast?" she added as Miranda slid into a seat.

Miranda chewed on her lip and thought. Maybe, she would have a bagel or maybe a muffin. Maybe, she would have orange juice or maybe milk.

"Miranda!" shouted her mother finally cutting into Miranda's thoughts. "It's too late. You don't have time for anything. You'll be late for school." She quickly ushered Miranda into a coat before Miranda had a chance to think about which one to wear. She didn't want Miranda to miss the bus.

At school, Miranda didn't get to do her art project because she couldn't decide which color crayon to start with red or blue. She didn't get to eat lunch because she couldn't decide if she wanted a sandwich or a bagel. She didn't play at recess because she couldn't decide if she wanted to go on the slide or the swings first.

When she came home, she was starving. She was grateful that her mom had put out a snack for her and she didn't have to think about it. After snack, she couldn't decide whether to do her reading or her math homework. She just sat there staring into space until her mother said "Miranda! Do your homework! It's getting late already. It will be dinner soon." Miranda looked at her mother helplessly until her mother opened Miranda's pink flowered backpack and took out Miranda's math homework and put it in front of her. "Here do this!" she said.

They somehow managed to get through the rest of the day with her mother helping Miranda to make choices. That night as she was putting Miranda to bed, her mother said. "Miranda, my sweet, this has to stop. You need to learn to make choices without worrying about them so much."

Miranda eye's filled with tears. "But Mommy." she said. "Every time,  I pick something I am not picking something else. What if I make the wrong choice?"

Miranda's mother smoothed the hair back off Miranda's face and said softly. "Sometimes, there are no wrong choices. If you don't wear your blue jeans today, you'll wear them tomorrow. If you don't have a bagel today, you'll have one tomorrow. Do your math first or your reading first, you'll still get them both done if you start doing them. Stop worrying so much about life's little choices so you have more time to worry about the big ones."

"I'll try, Mommy." Miranda promised. Her mother kissed her and turned out the light.

The next morning, Miranda went into her closet and grabbed the first shirt and pair of pants she found. She saw her sneakers under her bed so she put them on. When she went to brush her hair, she found a pretty purple clip on the counter so she put it in her hair.

She went downstairs and sat down at the table. Her mother had laid out a bagel for her breakfast. "Would you prefer a muffin?" her mother asked.

Miranda stared at the bagel for a minute without saying a word. Her mother started to say something thinking Miranda was not going to be able to make a choice again. She didn't want Miranda to miss breakfast again. However, as soon as her mother opened her mouth, Miranda quickly said "I don't want a bagel or a muffin. What I'd really like is a Pop Tart."

"Sure. Coming right up." said her mother proudly smiling at her daughter. "Would you like a strawberry Pop Tart or a chocolate fudge one?"

Miranda frowned and bit her lip. She loved them both and hadn't had either in a while. "You choose for me, mommy." she begged finally. Sometimes, it was just easier to let someone else choose.

Brittany Makes Breakfast

Brittany Ferris woke up early one morning. At first, she played quietly in her room. Soon, she realized she was hungry. She was going to go wake up Mommy  to ask her make breakfast. Then, she decided to let her Mommy sleep. She, Brittany, would make breakfast. It was the least she could do since Mommy loved her so much and did so much for her. It would be a nice change for Mommy not to make breakfast for once. Mommy would be so proud and happy.

Brittany put her slippers on and tiptoed downstairs into the kitchen. She sat down at the table to think of what to make. She was not allowed to use the oven or stove so anything that had to be cooked was out like eggs or French toast. She was not allowed to use a knife so she could not make anything that required spreading or cutting like a bagel or a sandwich. She chewed on her finger and thought really hard. "I know!" she said finally. "I'll make cereal."

She dragged a chair over to the counter, climbed up and pulled out a bowl. When she climbed down, she didn't bother to put the chair back.

Next, she went to the cabinet and took out a box of Lucky Charms. She pored the cereal into the bowl. A bunch of cereal spilled over the sides of the bowl and onto the floor. Brittany didn't bother cleaning up the cereal she had dropped. However as she continued to walk around the kitchen making Mommy's breakfast most of the cereal on the floor got crushed into the tile.

She got the milk out of the refrigerator and poured some into the bowl. She didn't know when to stop pouring and soon milk spilled over the bowl and made a big wet mess on the counter. She carried the cereal bowl to the table splashing more milk this time onto the floor as she went. She got a spoon out of  the silverware drawer and put it on the table without bothering to close the drawer again.

She looked at the cereal bowl all by itself on the table. Something was missing. Brittany chewed on her finger again and thought hard. "I know!" she said finally. "A drink! Mommy will want a drink to go with her cereal." She dragged a chair to the other cabinet where the cups were. She took down a red plastic cup and set it on the table. Again she left the chair where she had dragged it. She went to the refrigerator and took out the orange juice. She poured as carefully as she could, but still managed to pour about as much orange juice on to the table as she did in the glass as well as a little bit of orange juice right into the bowl with the cereal as well.

She just needed to do one last thing. She opened the pantry and reach for the box of napkins knocking over a bunch of cans in the process. She grabbed a handful of napkins. She took one and put it on the table next to the cereal and orange juice and let the other napkins flutter to the floor.

Just as she finished placing the napkin on the table, Brittany heard footsteps on the stairs. "Surprise, Mommy!" exclaimed Brittany excitedly as Mommy entered the kitchen. "I made you breakfast."

Mommy looked around. She saw all the chairs out of place. She saw the open silverware drawer. She saw messes on the counter, table and floor. She saw her daughter's proud smiling face, and she couldn't help smiling herself. "Why, yes you did." she replied.Then, she sat down to eat her breakfast, and it was very good.

Lee Ann and her Little Sister

Lee Ann Vincent had a younger sister, Lucy. Lucy was four years younger. Lucy adored Lee Ann. She followed her everywhere. She copied everything Lee Ann did. She repeated everything Lee Ann said. She wanted to be just like her sister. Lee Ann found it rather annoying.

"Can you please make her stop following me around?" Lee Ann begged their mother. "Can you please make her stop copying me? Can you please make me her stop repeating everything I say?  It's really annoying!"

"You should appreciate having a sister who adores you so much." said Mom. "It's not going to last forever."

Lee Ann couldn't imagine that. She couldn't wait for the day when Lucy would leave her alone. In the meantime. Lucy kept following her around and copying her.

Every day, when Lee Ann came home from school, Lucy was waiting by the door. "Lee Ann!" she would say excitedly throwing her arms around her sister and hugging her. "I missed you!" Lee Ann would give her a little smile and a half hug and then go off to have a snack and do her homework. It wasn't that she didn't care about her little sister at all. She just felt crowded by her. She just wanted some space.

Lucy just didn't get it. Even when Lee Ann was doing her homework, she sat nearby and played and pretended to do her homework too. "I hate homework!" she would say imitating her big sister.

When Lee Ann was 10, she was in the fifth grade. She started a new school. It was just for fifth and sixth graders. Lucy was 6. She started first grade. She went to a different school.

Lee Ann was happy because she would now get home one half hour earlier than Lucy. "At least, I'll have a half hour to myself." she said happily.

The first day, the half hour went quickly. Lee Ann sighed as she heard the door open and Lucy come in happily chatting away to Mom who had picked her up at the bus stop. "Oh great." she thought miserably waiting for the sound of Lucy's footsteps on the stairs as she came to invade Lee Ann's space. She waited a few minutes, but there was nothing but silence. She waited a few more. Still nothing. 'Something must be wrong' she thought. She hurried down the steps.

Lucy was sitting at the table finishing a cheese stick. "Hi." she said when she saw her big sister.

"Hi." replied Lee Ann. That explained it. Lucy was having a snack, and now, she would surely be coming to hang around like always. Lucy finished eating. She and Lee Ann both headed for the stairs and went up at the same time. Lee Ann got ready to tell her little sister to stay out of her room. When she turned around Lucy was not there. She had gone into her own room. Lee Ann just stood there with her mouth open.

After a minute or so, Lee Ann went in to Lucy's room. Lucy was sitting at her big wooden desk with papers and pencils spread in front of her. "Don't you want to hang around while I do my homework?" Lee Ann asked.

Lucy looked surprised. "You hate when I do that." she said. "Besides, I have my own homework to do." she said. "So could you please close the door on the way out?"

Lee Ann didn't know what to say. She wasn't used to Lucy being the one to throw Lee Ann out of the room. She wasn't sure she liked this turn of events.

Just as she backed out of the room and shut the door, Mom suddenly appeared in the hall. "Our litte girl's growing up." said Mom pointing toward Lucy's door.

"Wasn't it just yesterday that she was a cute little baby?' asked Lee Ann.

"Wasn't it just yesterday that you were?" said Mom. She smiled at Lee Ann. "It looks like you've finally gotten what you wanted. Lucy stopped following you around. Lucy stopped repeating everything you say. Lucy stopped copying you."

"Yeah," replied Lee Ann, "but I kind of miss it.

Delaney Doesn't Know

16 year old, Delaney Ulrich came home from school one afternoon. Her mother's car was not in the driveway. That was not usual. Her mother sometimes had errands and things to run in the afternoon. Delaney was old enough to have a house key and let herself in.

As soon as she walked in the door the phone started ringing. Delaney was sure it would be Grandma. Grandma called almost every day at this time. She always liked to talk and talk and ask a lot of questions. Delaney sighed. She really didn't want to get on the phone a long time. She just wanted to have a snack and get her homework done.

"Hello, Grandma." Delaney said a bit tiredly lifting the receiver to her ear. She felt as though she had already had a long conversation with Grandma even though she had just picked up the phone. Grandma was always asking the same questions every day, and she never wanted to get off the phone.

"Hello Delaney." said Grandma cheerfully. "How are you?" She sounded really happy but than she always did. Grandma was a very upbeat person. Delaney didn't see how anybody could be so happy so much of the time.

"I asked how you were." repeated Grandma.

"I don't know." replied Delaney.  She hadn't really been listening. She was looking around to see if her mother left a note or something. Sometimes, Mom left a note; sometimes she didn't. It depended how long she thought she was going to be gone.

"Where's your Mom?" asked Grandma.

"I don't know." replied Delaney. She still didn't see a note. She went to the refrigerator and took out the orange juice and poured herself a glass.

"What are you having for dinner tonight?" asked Grandma. Grandma was always very interested in what they were eating. That was was one of her favorite questions.

"I don't know. " replied Delaney again. She took a bag of chips out of the cabinet and sat down at the table and ate her snack as Grandma continued talking.  Grandma loved to talk. She could go on forever. Today she was saying something about going with a friend to Atlantic City. Delaney wasn't really paying that much attention though. She just wanted to eat her snack and get to her homework so she could get it over with and relax.

"Delaney!" said Grandma.

"What?!" said Delaney swallowing the last of her chips and washing it down with a gulp of juice. She realized that Grandma had stopped talking about her trip and was asking Delaney questions again. Delaney tuned back in to the conversation.

"I asked if you were picking up Tad and Tracy at the bus stop today." said Grandma. Tad and Tracy were Delaney's younger brother and sister. They were twins. They were 8. Sometimes, when Mom was out Delaney picked them up at the bus stop.

"I don't know." replied Delaney. It depended when Mom got home.

"Are you making dinner?" asked Grandma. She knew that sometimes when Mom was late, she left dinner for Delaney to heat up.

"I don't know." replied Delaney yet again.

"My Delaney," said Grandma "That is an awful lot of I don't knows. Don't you know anything?" she teased.

"Why yes, Grandma!" replied Delaney. "I know a lot of things. You're just not asking the right questions!"

Mommy Always Comes Back

Elena Garitty sat on the edge of her mother's bed looking as though she were about to burst into tears any minute. "Do you have to go Mommy?" she asked opening her big brown eyes widely and pouting her lips and making her best sad puppy face.

Mommy smiled and patted Elena on the head. "You know I do." she replied. "I promised Aunt Amelia I would help her with the new baby. I'll only be gone two weeks. You'll hardly notice I am gone."

"Of course. I'll notice you're gone. I'll miss you!" declared Elena grabbing on to her mother and clinging for dear life.

"Elena,"" said Mommy gently loosening Elena's grip. "I've been gone before.

"Yes, but not this long." replied Elena.

"I have to finish packing now, sweetie. Would you like to help me?"

Elena nodded. Inside she was screaming No! No! No! I don't want to help you because I don't want you to go Mommy, but she knew if she said it out loud it wouldn't do any good so just kept quiet.

Soon Mommy was done packing. She took her suitcase down the stairs. Elena trailed behind looking as sad as ever. At the door Daddy joined them. He kissed Mommy and said. "Drive carefully. Call us when you get there to let us know you made it there safely." It made Elena feel even worse now that she had the added worry of thinking that there was a possibility that Mommy wouldn't make it there safely. She hadn't thought about that before.

Mommy kissed Elena. "I love you my sweet. Be good for your Daddy."

"I love you to." replied Elena. She watched Mommy open the door and go out. She watched Mommy get in the car and pull it out of the driveway. She watched Mommy drive down the street. For a long time after Mommy left, she just stood by the window staring outside.

Elena and Daddy had a good week together. They played games and watched movies and went to the park. Of course, all of that was when Elena wasn't in school and Daddy wasn't at work. Elena never usually got to spend that much time with Daddy. It was fun, but she still missed Mommy. When she and Daddy were busy together, the time passed quickly. The rest of the time passed by slowly. Every day, Elena would ask "Is Mommy coming home today?"

Every day, Daddy would reply. "Not today kitten." Kitten was his special name for her.

Elena would sigh and say. "I miss Mommy."

"I miss Mommy too." Daddy would reply.

One day when Daddy and Elena were sitting on the bed, Elena said "Daddy?"

"Yes, kitten? " replied Daddy.

"What if Mommy doesn't come back?"

Daddy smiled at Elena. "That's silly," he assured her, "Of course, Mommy is coming back." he insisted. He showed her the calender and they marked a big circle on the day when Mommy would be home. Now, Elena didn't have to ask Daddy anymore. She could just look at the calender. Every day, she crossed off a day on the calender which meant it was getting closer and closer to the day Mommy would come back. Elena couldn't wait.

Finally it was here! The day Mommy was coming home. Elena felt like it was a celebration. She put on a pretty dress and waited. All day, she stood by the window and watched and waited eagerly. Mommy never came. Daddy was wrong, Mommy wasn't coming back. Maybe, she didn't love them after all. Elena's heart was broken.  Daddy took her up to bed. He didn't say anything, but he looked worried too.

A few hours later, Elena was awakened by a gentle kiss on the check. Her eyes fluttered open. "Mommy!" she said excitedly. She grabbed Mommy and hugged her tightly. "Oh, Mommy. I missed you."

"I missed you too." replied Mommy hugging Elena back tightly. She didn't seem to want to let go any more than Elena did.

"I thought you weren't coming back." Elena scolded her mother finally pulling away. "I waited all day, and you didn't come."

"I'm sorry, sweet." replied Mommy. "I had some car trouble, and it took me longer than I expected to get home."

"But you're here now." said Elena happily. "I wish you didn't ever have to go away again." she added feeling sad at just the prospect that Mommy might ever have to go away again.

"Well, I can't promise you that I'll never have to go away again." said Mommy honestly. Elena frowned. "But I can promise you that no matter when I go no matter where I go no matter how long I am gone, I will always come back."  Elena smiled and hugged her mother tightly again.

Jennifer Tells Jokes

Jennifer Oakes loved jokes. She loved hearing them and she loved telling them. Most of all, she loved making up jokes. The only problem was the jokes she made up weren't very funny. Nobody ever laughed at them.

"Can I tell you a joke, Daddy?" asked Jennifer. Daddy shook his head and tried to leave the room, but Jennifer stopped him by putting her hand on his arm. "Why don't cows fly?" she asked. Daddy shook his head. "Because they aren't birds!" exclaimed Jennifer laughing hysterically at her own joke. Daddy didn't laugh at all. He just smiled at her and left the room. Jennifer frowned. Daddy just didn't get it, but she knew she could find someone to laugh at her jokes.

Just then, Jaime, Jennifer's older sister entered the room. She went into the refrigerator and grabbed a can of coke and went to the cabinet and got a bag of chips and sat down at the table. Jennifer's eyes lit up. Jaime would surely laugh at her jokes.She sat down next to her sister. "Let me tell you a joke." she said. Jaime jumped out of her seat in a panic and grabbed her stuff. "Where are you going?" asked Jennifer. "Don't you want to hear a joke?"

Jaime shook her head. "No! No! No!"

"But why not?" asked Jennifer.

"Oh come on, Jen, " said her sister, "you're a terrible joke teller." She hurried out of the room with her snack before Jennifer could say another word.

Jennifer pouted. "No, I'm not!" she called after her sister. Jennifer was determined to show her sister that she was not a horrible joke teller. She would tell her best joke and that would show her. "Why are elephants gray?" she yelled out to her sister, but there was just silence. Jaime was already gone. "Because they're not green." said Jennifer softly to herself since there was nobody else around to listen to her great joke. This time she didn't even laugh at her own joke. It was no fun laughing all alone.

Mommy entered the room with Jennifer's baby sister, Jillian. Mommy put Jillian in her highchair.

Jennifer instantly brightened up. "Mommy!" she said excitedly. "Do you want to hear a joke?"

"Not now, honey." she said. "I have to feed Jillian." She set a cup of yogurt in front of the baby and proceeded to feed it to her.

Jennifer decided to tell her a joke anyway. It would be a really funny one and Mommy wouldn't mind. She closed her eyes and thought really hard and tried to come up with a good one. Finally, she thought of one. Her eyes lit up and she smiled. "Why did the dog bark?" she asked. "because that's what dogs do!" she added after a minute when her mother didn't say anything. Jennifer started laughing, but stopped when she noticed Mommy wasn't laughing. Mommy wasn't even smiling.

Mommy was looking at her shirt and frowning. Thanks to baby, Jillian there was yogurt splashed all across the front of  Mommy's shirt. "Watch her for a minute, while I go get another shirt." Mommy said to Jennifer as she hurried out of the room.

"Do you want to hear a joke?" Jennifer asked her baby sister. Jillian smiled at her sister as she ate her yogurt. Jennifer took that as a yes. "Why do babies make messes?" she asked. "Because they can!" she answered her own joke and began laughing.

Jillian smiled and began laughing too. Jennifer laughed even harder. So did Jillian. Jennifer hugged her. She didn't even care when the baby covered her with yogurt. She was so happy she had finally found someone to laugh at her jokes. Sometimes, it was good to have a little sister.

The Stupid Bowl

Something was happening, Haylee Norwood knew it. She just didn't know what it was, but she kept hearing everyone talk about it excitedly. The stupid bowl this, and the stupid bowl that. That's all anyone talked about these days. Haylee couldn't understand why people were so excited about something that had the word stupid in the title. Anyway, whatever it was it was happening today. She figured she better quickly  go find out what it was. She didn't want to miss out.

She went in her mother and father's room and found her mother. Her mother was on the phone looking very unhappy. "I ordered it two weeks ago." she said angrily into the phone. Haylee should have known better than to interrupt her mother when her mother was on the phone especially when she busy yelling at somebody on the other end. However, she really wanted to know what the stupid bowl was so she went over to her mother anyway.

"Mommy," she said softly when she approached her mother. When Mommy didn't answer, she touched her mother's arm to get her attention. When she still didn't answer, Haylee called out "Mommy!" again, but this time louder and began shaking her mother's arm.

Mommy temporarily moved the phone away from ear and gave Haylee a red angry look. "Not now, Haylee." she scolded. "I am having a house full of company today and the sub shop can't find our order."

"But Mommy." said Haylee. "I want to know what the stupid bowl is."

Mommy put her finger to her lips, shook her head and motioned for Haylee to go away. Haylee frowned and slowly exited the room. She went downstairs and found her father vacuuming. "Daddy," she said, "What's the stupid bowl?"

Daddy couldn't hear over the noise of the vacuum. "What's that?" he asked.

"What's the stupid bowl?" Haylee asked again a little bit louder, but Daddy still couldn't hear her.

He shook his head. "Later, pumpkin." he said. "I'm kind of busy right now." He continued vacuuming. Haylee frowned again and went off to look for someone else.

She noticed the basement door was open and was starting to go down when she saw her brother, Greg coming up carrying a couple of chairs."Greg," she said. "What's the stupid bowl?"

"Haylee, get out of the way before you get hurt!" yelled Greg. He didn't even answer her question. Haylee frowned once more and sighed. How was she ever going to find out what the stupid bowl was if nobody would tell her? She slowly dragged herself back upstairs. She headed for her room. All she wanted to do was lie down on her bed and feel sorry for herself. She was going to missing out on the stupid bowl because she didn't know what it was. She figured it must be something great because a lot of people seemed really excited about it.

As she walked by her sister, Zoey's room, she noticed Zoey sitting on the bed painting her toenails. She decided to take advantage of the fact that Zoey didn't have the phone attached to her ear for once and ask her about the stupid bowl."Zoey, what's the stupid bowl?" she asked quickly as she entered the room before Zoey had a chance to tell her to go away.

Zoey stopped painting her nails for a minute and looked up. "The what?" she asked in surprise.

"The stupid bowl." repeated Haylee. "You know, the stupid bowl that everyone is talking about."

"Oh." said Zoey as she suddenly understood. "You mean the Super Bowl. That's a big football game."

Haylee's eyes opened wide. She couldn't believe it. A football game?! Everyone was getting so excited about a football game? "Are you sure?" she asked finally.

Zoey nodded. "Yes." she said. "The Super Bowl is a football game." She went back to painting her nails.

Haylee hated football. She couldn't believe that so many people could be so excited about a football game. "That is stupid." she said.