I'm Thankful For... Page 3

didn’t mean it. I’m just thankful you’re my big brother!”

  John grinned back at her. He got up and gave her a hug. Then he added, “To make it up to you, how about we spend some time this Saturday doing anything you want to do?”

  “I’d like that!” cried Annie. “Let’s have a bubble-blowing contest, and then we can go to the park and shoot hoops!”

  And what do you know? That’s exactly what they did!

  John’s Little Sister

  John sighed to himself as he opened the front door and entered the house. It was a brisk, chilly November day, and the warmth of the entry hall felt wonderful. As John whipped off his scarf, jacket, and shoes, however, he couldn’t help but frown.

  The smell of birthday cake was drifting from the kitchen—and John knew that could mean only one thing. Mom was busy baking a birthday cake for John’s little sister Annie. Annie had been born just a few days before Thanksgiving, and Mom and Dad liked to call her their little Thanksgiving turkey.

  John loved his sister—but lately, he’d gotten pretty fed up with her. That past Friday, she’d had a sleepover with some of her friends as an early birthday celebration. John shuddered at the memory of the eight noisy, wild, laughing little girls that had taken over the entire house that night.

  Then, on Saturday, Mom had made John babysit Annie for three whole hours while she ran errands and had lunch with a friend. Annie had thought that, since John was her babysitter, she was allowed to choose what the two of them could do.

  As a result, John had spent those three miserable hours losing to Annie in a hoop-shooting contest at the park (she’d really improved on her jump shot lately), baking chocolate-chip cookies in the kitchen (Annie had left John to clean up the mess by himself, and after all that, he’d gotten in trouble with Mom for using the oven unsupervised!), and worst of all, playing hide-and-seek in the backyard (Annie had found John in the treehouse right away, but it had taken John almost twenty minutes to find Annie. How embarrassing!).

  On Sunday, Annie had accidentally destroyed John’s science experiment by dumping it down the drain (she’d thought it was a cup full of dirty water, rather than a cup full of important parts to his project), and on Monday, John had nearly fallen down the stairs, thanks to some doll shoes Annie had left lying around!

  For all these reasons and a few more besides, John was getting very tired of Annie, and the last thing he felt like doing was celebrating her birthday tomorrow. He grumbled about this to Mom as he set the table for dinner that night.

  “I understand how you feel, honey,” Mom told John. “But after all, Annie’s just a little kid. And she adores you. You’ve got to be patient with her.”

  John didn’t say anything. He was busy thinking about his friend Jaime. Jaime had a little brother named Roberto, who was around Annie’s age but not nearly as annoying.

  I wonder what it would be like to have a little brother instead of a little sister? John mused. I wonder if I would like it a lot better? After all, how could a little brother be any more of a pest than Annie is?

  The day after Annie’s birthday was Thanksgiving Eve, and John and Annie didn’t have any school. John was just settling in for a fun-filled afternoon of building a model car he’d bought recently, when Mrs. Januski, the next-door neighbor, called. She had just realized that she needed to run to the store to buy some ingredients for her Thanksgiving pies, and she was wondering if John could sit with her seven-year-old son Derek until she got back.

  John jumped at the chance! Not only would he make a little money, but he’d also be able to find out what it was like to have a little brother. Derek had always seemed pretty cool.

  John put on his jacket and ran next door. He was sure that this job was going to be a breeze.

  He was wrong.

  John spent the next forty-five minutes running around after Derek, who was the most wild, crazy seven-year-old John had ever met. Before his mother got back from the store, Derek managed to let the dog out of the house (John had to chase him and catch him to keep him from running into the street!), knock over one of his mom’s Thanksgiving casserole that was cooling on the kitchen counter (John did not have fun explaining that one to Mrs. Januski), clog the upstairs toilet, and make a mess of the entire house.

  John had never in his life been so grateful to get back home and see Annie. Compared to Derek, she was practically an angel (flaws and all!), and John felt bad for the way he’d been resenting her recently.

  When Annie rushed to the door and asked John how his babysitting job had been, John had to smile. “Let’s just say I’m happy it’s over with,” he told her.

  Annie opened the fridge and took out her leftover birthday cake. She cut a slice for herself and a slice for John and poured them both tall glasses of milk.

  “This probably sounds good to you after all that work,” Annie grinned, handing John a fork.

  John dug into his cake. “It sure does!” Annie is really thoughtful, he said to himself. And nice. And happy. And full of energy. And great at sports. And funny…

  The list went on and on. Now more than ever, John felt very blessed to have Annie for his sister.

  In fact, the very next day during Thanksgiving dinner, he raised his glass of apple cider and clanked it against hers in a holiday toast. “To Annie!” he declared. “I’m very thankful that she is my little sister!”

  Annie just beamed from ear to ear. “Hooray for the pumpkin pie!” she added.

  Just for Fun Activity

  After you read the two stories about John and Annie, make a list of all the things that you are thankful for about your own brother or sister. Then make a card for your brother or sister, writing a nice note inside and telling him or her why you are thankful to have them as a sibling. Hide the card inside their backpack, or in another place where they will be equally surprised to find it!

  Other special ways to show your gratitude for family members (don’t forget Mom and Dad, as well!) could include the following:

  • Write a special “I love you!” note in shaving cream on the bathroom mirror where they will see it.

  • Hide itty-bitty notes all over the house for them to find in random places. You can even make a treasure hunt out of it!

  • Put on a show for the whole family! Dress up and dedicate your special act to them—just because you love them!

  • Do a chore for them to show them your appreciation.

  Wonderful World

  “I don’t know what to write about!” Chloe grumbled, tossing her book bag onto the floor one November afternoon.

  “What’s the matter?” Dad called from the kitchen.

  Chloe hung up her coat and walked down the hall to join him. Turning on the faucet to wash her hands, she told Dad about the assignment her teacher, Mr. Stevens, had given the class today.

  “We have to write a report about something we’re thankful for,” Chloe explained. “You know, because Thanksgiving is coming up.” She wiped her hands on a dish towel and reached into the fridge for the pepperoni. On Tuesdays after school, Chloe always helped Dad make his famous deep-dish pizza.

  “I don’t see what the big problem is there,” Dad replied, unscrewing the lid to a jar of green olives. “You have plenty to be thankful for, Chloe! Don’t tell me you have no idea what to say!”

  “That’s just it!” Chloe began pressing pepperoni slices into the pizza dough to make her favorite pepperoni-stuffed crust. “I have tons of things that I’m thankful for. I’m thankful for you, and for Mom. I’m thankful that you’re such an awesome cook, and that you work from home, especially since Mom is a doctor, and she’s gone all the time.

  “I’m thankful for Rhett and Kennedy,” Chloe went on, naming her older brother and sister. “And I’m thankful for Omelet,” she added, with a fond glance at the big orange cat who lay curled up on the windowsill. “And my friends.”

  “There you go then!” cried Dad, taste-tasting his authentic Italian pizza sauce. “It sounds to me like you’ve g
ot plenty of material for your Thanksgiving report.”

  “No, I don’t!” whined Chloe. She shook her long blonde hair out of the way as she pressed down the pizza crust. “Because every single kid in my class is going to write about his or her family, or friends, or pets, or house, or whatever. And I want my report to be really different and really interesting. The kind of report that makes kids stop and think about what else there is to be thankful for.”

  Dad patted Chloe on the shoulder. “That’s my girl!” he cried. “Well, I guess we’ve just got to think about the things that make you unique. What do you have that other kids don’t?”

  Chloe wrinkled her nose. “I don’t want to write about my talents,” she said. “Besides, a lot of kids are good at dance and play the piano.”

  “I didn’t necessarily mean your talents,” Dad replied, “although you do have a lot of them. You’ve just got to think outside the box.”

  As Chloe and Dad finished working on the pizza, Chloe slipped deep into her thoughts. And then, all of a sudden, it hit her—something she had that other kids didn’t!

  “What about Jean-Luc and Nenet?” she exclaimed. She couldn’t believe she hadn’t thought about her two pen-pals before this.

  “That’s a great idea!” beamed Dad.

  Chloe had gotten in touch with Jean-Luc and Nenet through an international pen-pal organization for kids. Jean-Luc was a boy who lived in the French countryside, and Nenet was a girl from