Like an Open Book

This afternoon I volunteered to help out with Olivia’s class in any way that her teachers deemed useful. Her lead teacher suggested that I come for Writers’ Workshop, an activity period when all the kids could practice reading to me a select story from their portfolio. I made it around three tables' worth of delightful stories before approaching the last table, the one where Olivia and four of her classmates were awaiting my arrival. As I walked over, I heard Olivia loudly rehearsing the story she was going to share with me.

Now imagine our daughter airing our dirty laundry in her booming voice. I’m laughing as much in recollection as I was in the moment.

Here’s the opening page:

(Editor’s note: In our defense, you too would “allwas” be “grampie” if you hadn’t had one uninterrupted night of sleep in five-plus years.)

And the text from pages two and three:

They say go back to sleep.

Then I go back to sleep.