“Is your
sister up yet?” Mom asked Sarah one Sunday morning as the two of them were in
the kitchen getting breakfast.
“I don’t
think Libby or Nick is up yet. Alex is though.” Said Sarah as she opened the
cabinet. “Do we have any pop tarts?”
“Yes, I
bought some last week. Look on the next shelf.” Replied Mom. Sarah reached in
and pulled out the box as Alex came into the kitchen.
“Oooh! Pop
tarts!” he said excitedly.
“You guys,
those are so bad for you. They don’t taste very good either.” said Mom. The two
kids looked at Mom in shock.
“I love pop
tarts! They’re so good! Especially the s’more ones.” said Alex.
“Yeah, those
are the best. I would eat pop tarts everyday if I could.” chimed in Sarah as
she opened a packet of blueberry pop tarts and put them in the toaster.
“Well, it’s
a good thing I won’t let you. Your teeth would fall out.” said Mom. “Alex,
would you do me a favor? Will you go wake up Nick and Libby for me?”
“Do I have
to?” whined Alex, dreading the task. Nick and Libby were not easy to wake up.
Libby would glare at you and then roll over and go back to sleep. Nick would
just pull the covers over his head and ignore you. Needless to say, Alex didn’t
like walking his older siblings up. Sarah, on the other hand, reveled in it.
“I’ll do
it!” she cried as she hopped off her chair and ran upstairs.
“Thanks!”
said Alex as he took her pop tarts out of the toaster and started eating them.
“Oh, dear.”
said Mom.
“What’s
wrong?” asked Alex.
“Just wait.”
Mom and Alex listened as Sarah’s footsteps traveled up the stairs and toward
Libby’s room. They heard Sarah open her sister’s door and then…
“SARAH!!!!”
Libby yelled. Mom cringed as she heard Sarah laugh impishly and then open
Nick’s door. This time it sounded like someone was jumping on the bed. This
was followed by a loud thump and then…
“SARAH!!!!”
Nick yelled.
“Sounds like
Sarah woke them up.” Alex said as he munched on what had been Sarah’s pop tart.
Mom sighed and gave Sarah an exasperated look as she skipped into the kitchen.
“They’re
awake!”
“Thank you,
Sarah.” Said Mom as she went to make sure Nick and Libby didn’t go back to
sleep.
“Hey, where
did my pop tarts go?” asked Sarah, looking at the empty toaster.
“Ummm….”
“Alex!”
“Sorry, I
didn’t want them to get cold.” He said as he finished the pop tart and put his
plate in the sink. “I’m gonna go get dressed now.” He dodged Sarah and ran up
the stairs. Sarah sighed and put another pop tart in the toaster.
“Good
morning!” said Dad as he entered the kitchen.
“Hi!” said
Sarah.
“Did you
feed the cat yet?” asked Dad.
“Oh! No, not
yet. I forgot.”
“It would be
best if you fed him sooner rather than later.” said Dad, gesturing to the
kitchen window. Sarah turned to look and saw the cat, meowing its head off and
clinging to the mesh screen by its claws.
“Oh! My poor
baby!” Sarah cried and she rushed outside to feed her precious kitten. As she
left the kitchen, Nick entered and saw the box of pop tarts.
“Cool! Pop
tarts!” he said as he helped himself to Sarah’s pop tarts.
“Okay, Libby
is up and she is getting dressed.” said Mom as she came back into the kitchen.
“Where’s Alex?”
“I’m right
behind you, ready to go!” squeaked Alex. Mom turned to look at him and found a
very mismatched boy standing behind her.
“Honey, umm,
you can’t wear that. Navy blue pants and a black and yellow striped shirt don’t
go well together, and you grew out of those pants a while ago. They’re too
short, you can see you red sock. And your green one.” She paused and Alex
looked down at his attire.
“Oh. Is that
all?” he asked in his nonchalant, carefree way.
“Well, sandals
in October aren’t the greatest idea, and your hair could use a comb.” Mom
reluctantly added.
“Whoa! What
the heck are you wearing?” laughed Sarah as she came back inside.
“I’ll go
change.” sighed Alex.
“I’ll beat
you up there!” said Nick as he quickly swallowed the last bit of what had been
Sarah’s pop tarts.
“No fair!
Your legs are longer!”
“Please tell
Libby to hurry up. We have to leave in half an hour.” Dad called after them as he was making his infamous half a cup of coffee. Cups of Dad’s coffee could be
found all around the house, but they were perpetually half full. He started by
filling his mug half way, but by the time it reached the sink, it was still
half full. It was quite the mystery to the rest of the family.
“Hey! Where
did my pop tart go?” cried Sarah.
“I don’t
know, but you’d better hurry up and get dressed.” said Dad. Sarah sighed and
took out another pop tart.
“That’s the
second one I’ve lost this morning. I’ll just eat this one not toasted.”
“Sarah,
you’re still getting breakfast?” asked Mom. “You were the first one up, put a
move on it, please!” Busy mornings tended to stress Mom out a little.
“Okay,
okay.” Sarah put her raw pop tart on the table and keeping one eye warily on her plate,
she ran to the fridge, grabbed the milk and a cup out of the cupboard and
dashed back to the table. Finding herself alone in the kitchen, Sarah sat down
to enjoy her pop tart. When she was done she sighed with relief and
satisfaction and then skipped upstairs to get dressed.
“Is Libby
ready yet?” Mom asked as she passed Sarah on the stairs.
“I don’t
know, probably not. It always takes her forever in the morning.”
“Hmmmm, I
know. She needs to work on that. Please tell her to hurry up. Tell Nick and
Alex too.”
“Okay, I
will. Oh, wait! Here’s Alex now.”
“Ohhhh,
Alex. A Christmas sweater and khaki shorts with what appears to be your older
brother’s scouting sock isn’t quite appropriate.”
“I’ll go
change again.” He sighed and trudged back upstairs, passing Nick as he came
down.
“Hey, has
anyone seen my shoes?” asked Nick.
“Where are
the girls?” Dad asked as he came into the kitchen. “And did someone move my
coffee?”
"Jim, I moved your coffee, I put it on th-“
“Hey! Found
my shoes!” Nick exclaimed.
“Mom can you
please help me with my hair?” asked Sarah, walking down the stairs with a big
bow in her hands.
“Yes, Sarah, come here. Nick, put
them on and then can you go get Libby?” asked Mom.
“Sure.”
“Nick, watch
out for my….” started Dad.
“Ahhhh!”
“Coffee.”
Coffee spilled all over the chair and onto the floor, soaking Nick’s pants and
socks.
“Oh, Nick,
what a mess!”
“Sorry, I’ll
clean it up.” Nick said apologetically.
“No, you go change;
I’ll take care of it. Tell Libby to put a move on it while you’re up there.”
Dad said as he reached for the towels. Nick turned to run up the stairs and
promptly smashed into Alex.
“Whoops.
Sorry.” The two brothers detangled themselves and then Alex presented himself
to his mother.
“Yes, you
look fine.” Turning back to Sarah’s hair she said under her breath, “One down,
three to go.”
“Where is
Libby?” asked Dad as he finished cleaning up the coffee.
“Done! Okay,
Sarah, go tell Libby to get down here and then you and Alex go get in the car.”
Mom said. “Don’t forget your Bibles!”
“Oh! Mine’s
in my room. I have to go get it.” Alex cried and headed for the stairs.
Unfortunately, he got to them at the same time Sarah did and they both ran into
Nick as he came down them.
“Umph!”
“Ouch!”
“Hey!” The
three kids struggled to get around each other.
“Alright,
alright, break it up.” Dad said. “Let Nick through, then Alex. Okay, go ahead,
Sarah. Here, Nick, go start the car.”
“Hold on, I
gotta find my shoes.” said Nick, who was now under the table looking for his
shoes.
“I moved
them over there when I cleaned up the coffee.”
“Got my
Bible!” cried Alex.
“Good, grab
your jacket and go start the car.” said Dad, handing Alex the car keys. He
started to protest, but was cut off by Sarah.
“She’s
coming.”
“No, she
needs to be down here.” said Mom.
“She came
out of her room, if that means anything.” said Sarah.
“I’m coming!
I’m coming!” said a voice from upstairs.
“Okay.
Sarah, go get in the car. Nick, go with her. Jim, are you ready?” asked Mom.
“Yes, just
let me finish making my coffee.”
“I’m here!”
cried Libby as she ran down the stairs.
“Finally! Go
get in the car. I’m right behind you.” Mom said as she gather everyone together
and pushed them out the door.
“I’ve got the
door.” Said Dad as he locked the door from the inside and walked out with his
coffee cup. The house stood still and quiet, now that the whirlwind of people had
gone. Alex stood in the kitchen with the keys in one hand and his Bible in the
other. There was a knock on the door and Alex saw Mom standing outside. He
unlocked the door and let his mother in.
“Of all the
kids to forget, I was expecting it to be Libby.” she said.
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