1067. Let’s all make a card

Lizzie, the teacher, planned for her class to make Father’s Day cards. Oh! But she had forgotten that Samantha’s father was dead. The class couldn’t possibly make the cards, said Lizzie. It would be like rubbing Samantha’s face in it.

Lizzie, the teacher, planned for her class to make Mother’s Day cards. Oh! But she had forgotten that Jonathan’s mother was dead. The class couldn’t possibly make the cards, said Lizzie. It would be like rubbing Jonathan’s face in it.

Lizzie, the teacher, planned for her class to make Memorial Day cards. Oh! But she had forgotten that Angela’s aunt was killed in Afghanistan. The class couldn’t possibly make the cards, said Lizzie. It would be like rubbing Angela’s face in it.

Lizzie, the teacher, planned for her class to make Christmas cards. Oh! But she had forgotten that Tareq’s uncle was a Sunni from Jordan. The class couldn’t possibly make the cards, said Lizzie. It would be like rubbing Tareq’s face in it.

At last! said Lizzie. Good morning class! Today is Buddha’s Birthday in Nepal. No one here is a Buddhist I believe. No one is from Nepal. Let’s all make a card!

248. Father’s Day

Michael was a solo Dad. He had three young daughters. He always liked to get up early and get things done before the girls got out of bed.

But today was Father’s Day. He had to lie in bed for an inordinate amount of time. He could hear the three girls in the kitchen preparing him breakfast in bed. He couldn’t think of anything worse. Burnt toast. Crumbs in the bed. Soggy cereal. Out of sight strong coffee with far, far too much sugar. And there! It arrived on a tray.

“Surprise!” they all chorused. “Happy Father’s Day!”

So then, when that was done, he got up and got them their breakfast. And did the laundry, and cleaned the house. He always did that on a Sunday. Then he made them lunch and they played outside.

In the afternoon, he took all three to see the latest Disney movie, and on the way home they stopped at McDonald’s.

The girls thought they’d given their Dad the best Father’s Day in the world. And they probably had.