Best Day

Best Day

“Let’s play a game,” Mom said

“I’m tired of games. This is the most boring day.” Julie laid her head on the tile floor.

“No, this will be fun. You need to find a star, a leaf, and a square.”

“Like she said, the most boring day of all the days ever created,” Mark whined.

“Come on, play along. In nature, find a star, a leaf, and a square. They have to be natural shapes. No manmade objects allowed.”

“It’s the desert. Where in the world will I find a leaf? Or a square? Or a star?” Mark spoke up from the hammock in the breezeway.

“Use your imagination. First one to find me those three items gets the biggest ice cream sundae they have at Buster Boy’s.”

Julie and Mark groaned. They were getting tired of Mom’s games, and it was only the middle of June.

About ten minutes later, they returned with their treasures.

“It’s hot out there. I only found these.” Mark took out a dead spider, part of a cactus, and a square little piece of foil.

Julie laughed, “Ha, the foil doesn’t count. No man-made stuff, remember?”

“Did you do better?”

She produced a white flower, star-shaped, with a leaf from the plant, and a small square shiny stone. “Ta Dah!”

“Mom! I think she cheated! That plant is growing in Mrs. Miller’s garden, the stone came from the pond in the Wilson’s yard.”

Mom checked their finds. “I guess I wasn’t clear about the rules. But Julie did find three. And they aren’t man-made. So she wins.”

“Yes!” Julie shouted.

Mark frowned.

“That’s okay, Mark. You’ll get the runner’s up prize.”

Both children waited for her announcement.

“A bag of candy from Wonderland. For your imagination.”

He smiled. “Best day ever!”

W/C 300