Karen's Turkey Day

  “Come on, kids,” said Mommy. “We can work on the room this afternoon. Now it is time to get ready for school.”

  School was fun. But I was happy when it was over. I wanted to decorate for Granny and Grandad’s visit. I went straight to the den when I got home. I wanted to see if it looked any different than when I left. It did.

  “Where did the couch go?” I asked.

  “It was picked up by the Salvation Army,” said Mommy. “Seth found a sofa bed for us. It will be here tomorrow.”

  Andrew ran out of the kitchen waving a pink turkey on a stick.

  “This is for the new room,” he said.

  “I like it,” I replied. I really did, too. It was a funny turkey. It would cheer up Granny and Grandad.

  I washed up fast and ate my snack. Then I set to work.

  “Where should we put my turkey?” asked Andrew.

  I looked around the room. I saw a small vase on the bookcase.

  “Let’s see how it looks here,” I said. I put the turkey in the vase.

  “Now it is a turkey-flower,” said Andrew.

  I ran to my room to get the paper pumpkins I had made in school. I punched a hole at the top of each one and strung them on a piece of yellow ribbon. Mommy helped me hang it across the windows.

  “The turkey and pumpkins look beautiful,” she said.

  I wanted to show Seth what we had done. But he did not get home until a long time after dinner. By then, Mommy, Andrew, and I were cleaning up the den. Seth carried in the two tables he had made. They looked like tables you would see in a fancy store. (Seth is a very good carpenter.)

  “This room looks great,” said Seth.

  The room looked even better the next day. When I arrived home from school on Wednesday, the sofa bed was there. It was blue with colored speckles. I helped Mommy vacuum it and put on the sheets.

  That night, Seth carried in two small lamps he had borrowed from someone at his workshop. He put one on each nightstand and turned them both on.

  “The room looks so cozy,” I said.

  “You three have done a terrific job,” replied Seth. “Thank you.”

  Finally Thursday arrived. Seth came home early because it was a special day.

  “Is everybody ready?” he said.

  We took one last look at the new guest room. Mommy had brought in a vase of fresh flowers and a bowl of fruit. The room looked perfect.

  We piled into the car and buckled up. We were on our way to the airport to pick up Granny and Grandad.

  A Happy Reunion

  “Do your ears hang low? Do they wobble to and fro? Can you tie them in a knot? Can you tie them in a bow?”

  Andrew and I were sitting in the back seat of the car singing silly songs.

  “I see the first sign for the airport,” said Seth. “We will be there soon.”

  We followed the signs and parked the car in the airport lot. When we were inside we checked a TV screen that listed the gate numbers.

  “Granny and Grandad will be on Flight thirty-eight from Omaha. Can you find it on the screen, Karen?” asked Seth.

  I looked down the list but I did not see it. Maybe I had missed it. I started from the top again. Sure enough, there it was, in the middle.

  “Gate Six,” I said.

  “Let’s go,” said Mommy.

  We reached the gate with plenty of time to spare. Mommy and Seth took Andrew and me to the bathrooms. Then we looked in the gift shop.

  Finally an announcement came over the loudspeaker. “Flight thirty-eight from Omaha, now arriving at Gate Six.”

  We hurried to Gate 6 to watch the plane come in. Andrew and I waved while it was landing, just in case Granny and Grandad were watching.

  In a few minutes, a flight attendant walked into the waiting room. She was pushing a wheelchair. The person in the wheelchair was Grandad. Granny was walking next to him, holding his hand.

  We ran to them and threw our arms around Grandad and Granny. I tried to put a smile on my face. But I felt sad. Grandad looked so old.

  “Thank you,” Seth said to the attendant. “We can take it from here.”

  “Are you okay, Grandad?” I asked. “Did something bad happen on the plane?”

  “I am fine,” Grandad replied. “I was just feeling a little tired from the trip. Granny thought the wheelchair would be a good idea in the airport.”

  “We are happy you are here,” said Mommy.

  “Extra happy,” said Andrew.

  “Come on,” said Seth. “Let’s go pick up your luggage.”

  We went straight to the baggage pickup area. All kinds of bags were going round and round on the conveyor belt.

  “Just call out when you see one of yours,” said Seth.

  “There’s one!” called Grandad.

  “There’s another!” called Granny.

  Granny and Grandad were staying a long time, so they needed lots of things. We piled seven bags onto a cart. Seth pushed the cart through the airport. Mommy helped Grandad.

  We did not talk much on the ride home. Mommy said Granny and Grandad needed to rest.

  As soon as we walked through the door of the little house, we showed Granny and Grandad their new room.

  “Ta-daa!” I said.

  “This is beautiful,” said Granny.

  “The couch opens up into a comfortable bed,” said Mommy. “Come. I have a snack ready for us in the kitchen. You must be hungry after your trip.”

  We sat in the kitchen and ate and talked.

  “I am happy you will be with us on Thanksgiving,” I said. “We will have fun in New York!”

  “The trip sounds wonderful,” said Granny. “But I really think it would be too much for Grandad and me. We will manage just fine in Stoneybrook on our own.”

  This was not good news. I would be sad if Granny and Grandad did not come to New York with us. I hoped we would be able to change their minds.

  Horn of Plenty

  As soon as I woke up the next morning, I ran to Granny’s and Grandad’s room. Andrew was right behind me.

  “How did you sleep?” I asked. “Was your bed comfortable? Did any noises wake you up?”

  “We had a very restful night,” said Granny.

  “You did not tell us about Sheppy last night,” said Andrew.

  (Sheppy is Granny’s and Grandad’s dog.)

  “Sheppy is just fine,” said Grandad. “So is Pearl.”

  (Pearl is their cat.)

  We visited with Granny and Grandad until Mommy sent us upstairs to get dressed. I did not want to leave. I wanted to stay with Granny and Grandad all day. But I knew I would not be allowed to miss school.

  When I was dressed, I found a bowl of Krispy Krunchy cereal waiting at my place. I wished Grandad’s pancakes were there. Grandad used to love to cook. But I guess he was too tired to cook much these days.

  Beep, beep. We were finishing breakfast when Andrew’s carpool came to take him to preschool. That meant my school bus would be arriving any minute. We grabbed our jackets and kissed everyone good-bye.

  “See you later,” I said.

  Granny and Grandad watched us from the window. I waved to them as I ran to the bus stop. It was so much fun having them at our house.

  School was fun, too. In the morning, we collected fall leaves in the courtyard outside our room. We found maple, oak, and sycamore leaves. We made them into a collage and hung it on the bulletin board.

  “Is it okay if I bring some more leaves home for Granny and Grandad?” I asked. “They are staying at my house.”

  “Of course,” Ms. Colman replied.

  After lunch, we were given an important assignment.

  “I would like you to make Thanksgiving decorations to brighten up Stoneybrook Manor,” said Ms. Colman.

  Hooray! I love making decorations. And it is nice to cheer up the people at Stoneybrook Manor. That is where some senior citizens live.

  Ms. Colman set out construction paper, yarn, crayons, markers, scissors, and glue.
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  “You may make anything that reminds you of fall and Thanksgiving,” Ms. Colman said. “You may make pumpkins, turkeys, pilgrims, cornucopias.”

  I waved my hand and Ms. Colman called on me.

  “What is a cornucopia?” I asked.

  “A cornucopia is a basket shaped like a horn. It is filled with fruit, flowers, and vegetables. It is also called a horn of plenty. It is a symbol of good times,” Ms. Colman explained.

  “I am having a very good time today, so I will make one of those,” I said.

  We were allowed to sit anywhere while we worked. I sat with Hannie and Nancy at the back of the room. Nancy was making a chain of paper doll pilgrims. Hannie was making a snowflake mobile. While we worked, we talked.

  Nancy was excited about her plans for Thanksgiving. She had just found out that she was going to Massachusetts with her parents and her baby brother, Danny.

  “My parents’ friends have five children,” said Nancy. “That means there will be eleven of us for Thanksgiving dinner. We will all cook something. It will be a feast!”

  I told my friends that Granny and Grandad might not come to New York. “I hope they will change their minds,” I said.

  I sat back and looked at the work I had done so far on my cornucopia. I had used yellow construction paper to make the horn. I was filling it with paper fruit and flowers.

  I was having a happy day. And I was making a beautiful horn of plenty.

  A Walk With Grandad

  After school, I jumped off the bus, waved good-bye to Nancy, and ran home. I opened the door and found Grandad sitting by himself in the living room. He looked sad.

  “Hi, Grandad. Where is everyone?” I asked.

  “Seth is at work. Your mother, brother, and Granny went downtown,” Grandad replied.

  “That leaves just you and me then. I will make us an afterschool snack,” I said.

  I made peanut butter and jelly on crackers. Grandad seemed to like his snack. I wanted to cheer him up. So while we were eating I told him everything I did in school. I told him about my cornucopia, and about Stoneybrook Manor. I told him about Ms. Colman, about my friends, and my classmates.

  “I almost forgot! I brought you something,” I said.

  I found the leaves I had collected.

  “Do you know what kinds they are?” I asked.

  “Let me see,” said Grandad. “This one is a sycamore leaf. This is a maple leaf. And this is an oak leaf.”

  “You are right! You get an A plus,” I said.

  Grandad smiled. I could tell he was starting to feel better. Maybe he had just been lonely. I wanted to go outside. But I did not want to leave him alone again.

  “Do you want to take a walk with me, Grandad? Just a little walk?” I asked.

  “All right,” replied Grandad. “A little walk will be nice. I will get my sweater.”

  We had walked together in my neighborhood before. But there was something new I wanted to show him. We went a few blocks to the construction site where my friends and I had painted a panel on a big fence. It was a cartoon of The Space Game. (The Space Game was a very exciting movie.)

  “We won first prize for the funniest panel,” I said.

  “It is wonderful!” exclaimed Grandad. “You deserved that prize.”

  I did not want to keep Grandad out too long. So we headed back to the house. On the way, we met Kathryn and Willie Barnes. (Kathryn is six; Willie is five.) They had met Grandad before. But I introduced them again.

  Then we met Bobby and Alicia. (Bobby is my classmate. Alicia is his little sister. She is Andrew’s age.) I reintroduced them to Grandad, too.

  Before we returned to the little house, I took Grandad next door to say hello to Nancy. I knocked on the door. Mrs. Dawes opened it carrying Danny in her arms. Then Nancy ran downstairs. She was carrying her kitten, Pokey.

  We stood at the door and talked a few minutes. Then it was time for Grandad and me to go home.

  “Thank you for stopping by,” said Mrs. Dawes. “I hope you enjoy your visit.”

  That night at dinner, Grandad told everyone about our afternoon. He sounded very happy.

  “I had a delicious peanut butter and jelly snack. I saw a prizewinning panel. And I got to say hello to Karen’s friends. We had a lot of fun,” said Grandad.

  “Speaking of fun, have you given any thought to the Thanksgiving trip?” asked Seth.

  “We are thinking that if you cannot go, we might skip it this year,” said Mommy.

  Omigosh! Skip our trip? That would be awful. I was dying to see the parade.

  “But, Mommy, we were going to be way up high with the balloons,” I said. “We have to go.”

  “Of course you do,” said Granny. “Do not even think about canceling the trip.”

  “We will be fine here,” said Grandad. “Especially now that I know the neighborhood so well.”

  Grandad winked at me. Thank goodness. We were going to take our trip after all.

  School Visitors

  It was Monday. Another Show and Share day. I knew just what I wanted to share, too.

  I was so excited about our trip to New York that over the weekend I did something special. I made a gigundoly beautiful diorama of the parade. I filled a very large box with paper balloons, buildings, and people. I made the balloons in the shapes of my favorite characters. I made the people waving and smiling.

  “I do not see how that will fit on the school bus with you,” said Mommy. “It is much too big.”

  We had just finished breakfast. Andrew’s carpool had picked him up. My school bus would be arriving any minute.

  “I have to take it with me,” I said. “I already showed it to Nancy. Now I want Hannie to see it. And Ms. Colman. I want everyone in my class to see it.”

  “I am sorry, Karen,” replied Mommy. “I cannot drive you to school. Seth has been working hard lately and I promised to give him a hand at the workshop. He is waiting in the car for me now.”

  I looked at Granny and Grandad. Maybe. Just maybe.

  “Could you take me?” I asked.

  “Of course we could,” said Granny. “We would be happy to.”

  “Are you sure?” asked Mommy.

  “It will be fun,” Grandad replied. “We are ready whenever you are, Karen.”

  Yippee! Mommy carried my diorama outside and put it in her car.

  “Thank you, Mommy! See you later,” I called. I waved good-bye as she and Seth drove off.

  “Do you know the way?” asked Grandad.

  “Of course,” I replied.

  I told them exactly how to go to school. Right turn. Left. Straight. Right. Park in the lot. No problem!

  The three of us carried the diorama into my classroom together. It was not heavy. Just big. We put it down on the floor at the front of the room.

  I was so excited about having Granny and Grandad in my classroom. I wanted to show them everything.

  First I showed them where I sit. Natalie and Ricky were already at their desks, so I introduced them to my friends. (I did not tell them that Ricky is my husband. I was not sure they would approve of my being married so young, even if it is only pretend.)

  Then Hannie arrived. She had met Granny and Grandad a couple of times. She was happy to see them.

  I introduced them to Hootie, our guinea pig.

  “Isn’t he cute?” I said.

  “It is nice to have a pet at school,” said Grandad. “You can learn a lot by watching and caring for an animal.”

  Then Ms. Colman walked in.

  “Ms. Colman! Ms. Colman! This is my granny and my grandad,” I said.

  “I am very happy to meet you,” Ms. Colman replied.

  I introduced Granny and Grandad to all my classmates. I showed them our beautiful fall leaf collage. I showed them the things we had made for Stoneybrook Manor. (We had not brought our decorations over there yet.)

  Then it was time for Granny and Grandad to leave. I was sorry to see them go. I could tell they liked being in m
y classroom. And I liked having them there.

  “This has been a real treat, Karen,” said Grandad. “Have a good day at school.”

  Thanks to Granny and Grandad, I was going to have an excellent day at school. Thanks to them, my class was going to see my diorama at Show and Share.

  A Talk With Granny

  When I returned from school the next day, Granny and Grandad were waiting for me. Mommy had taken Andrew to the dentist for a checkup.

  “How was school today?” asked Granny.

  “It was great!” I replied. “Ms. Colman liked my New York City diorama so much that she made a special place for it on the window ledge. Nobody else has an important display like mine.”

  “It is not nice to brag, Karen,” said Grandad.

  Humph. I did not see why. A little bragging does not hurt anybody.

  “What else did you do at school?” asked Granny.

  “We read a cool book about a class that takes a magic school bus ride back to the time of the dinosaurs. The kids are afraid the dinosaurs are after them. They have to run away really fast.”

  I started running around the living room to escape from the make-believe dinosaurs that were after me.

  “Eek!” I shouted.

  “Karen! Karen! Please stop shouting and running in the house. I am getting a headache. And you could very easily break something,” said Grandad.

  Well, for heaven’s sake. Grandad was grouchy. Everyone knows I shout when I am excited. Ms. Colman has to remind me to use my indoor voice all the time. But she says it nicely. And I never break anything when I run around. Well, hardly ever.

  I did not like being scolded by Grandad.

  “I guess I better do my homework,” I said.

  I ran to my room and sat on my bed with Goosie. I had wanted to tell Granny and Grandad more things about my day. I wanted to tell them I got all my spelling words right. And when we played dodge ball, Mrs. Mackey, the gym teacher, said I run as fast as the wind.

  But I was better off telling Goosie. Grandad would just say I was bragging. And if I showed him how fast I ran, he would say I might break something. I felt as though I could not do anything right. I started to cry a little.