Storytime
Rebekah Wilson
Priscilla Bell
“Lucie? Can you flip that pancake for me? I think
it’s ready,” Grandmother asked.
Lucie’s Spring Cleaning
Part Two By Rebekah Wilson, illustrated by Priscilla Ector Bell
Early the next morning, Lucie climbed out of bed quickly and ressed. She could already hear Grandmother in the kitchen
and Momma moving around in her bedroom. Lucie was very excited because
they were going to start with Grandmother’s bedroom first!
When Lucie reached the kitchen she
could already smell the beginnings of
dinner. Grandmother was browning
stew meat in the big cast-iron frying pan,
and the slow cooker held a mound of
chopped celery, carrots, onions, and potatoes already. As Lucie watched, Grandmother added garlic power, beef bouillon, dried parsley flakes, and a pinch of
dried red pepper. Dinner was going to be
scrumptious!
“Lucie? Can you flip that pancake
for me? I think it’s ready,” Grandmother asked.
“Sure! I love flipping pancakes, but
sometimes I make a mess of it,” Lucie
replied.
“Practice makes perfect. Do you have
any idea how many pancakes I had to
flip before I could do it without making a
mess or having them fold in half?” Grandmother asked.
Lucie shook her head.
“A lot!” Grandmother said, kissing the
top of Lucie’s head.
Grandmother and Lucie worked together getting breakfast cooked and
dinner started at the same time. When
Momma and Daddy came into the
kitchen a little while later, the slow cooker was filled and working as an invisible servant to ensure dinner was done
on time and would be delicious. There
were pancakes and fresh berry syrup
for breakfast, with a side of scrambled
eggs. The grownups had their hot coffee
while Lucie was allowed hot apple cider
that had a small piece of cinnamon stick
heated with it.
“What about Thomas and Anna?” Lucie
asked after Daddy prayed over the food.
“We can save their food and keep it
warm in the oven, Lucie,” Mother said,
smiling because Lucie had remembered
her siblings.
Daddy asked a few questions about
what the “girls” were doing today and
nodded when he heard about the spring
cleaning plans. Shortly afterwards, he
finished breakfast and gathered his
things together to go to work. He gave
Lucie a big hug and kissed her cheek, and
Lucie waved to him from the front door
as he drove away.
“Can we start now?” Lucie asked, her
face filled with eager excitement for what
might be hiding in Grandmother’s room
that she hadn’t seen yet. Lucie was very
pleased that they were cleaning Grandmother’s room first, because she just
knew there had to be something exciting
in there to discover.
“Not quite yet, Lucie. It would never do
to leave the breakfast dishes on the table
and a messy kitchen when we are about
to embark on a most vigorous expedition!
Just think! We will be too exhausted at the
end of it to lift our little finger, so there’s
nothing more important than getting our
ducks in a row and having a clean kitchen
while we spend our energy elsewhere,”
Grandmother said, laughing.
Lucie sighed and turned toward the
kitchen. This wasn’t much fun, but
Grandmother was right. After doing
spring cleaning she wouldn’t want to help
with the dishes.
When the last dish had been dried and
put away, Lucie grabbed up the bottles of
cleaning solutions and the rag box and
stood tall and proud by the kitchen door.
“We’re ready now! Let’s go!”
Grandmother laughed. “Lucie, you
are so full of energy today! Okay, let’s
get going!”
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