Chores First

By Angie Bromeland

Henry looked downtrodden as he headed outside. He had hoped to play video games today, but his parents said not until he completed the chores on his list. Henry had almost voiced his opinion, but zipped his lips, instead. He knew if he whined, he’d get even less time to play what he wanted.

First on his chore list was to help in the gardens. The rows of vegetables needing weeding. The flowers along the south side of the house needed to be deadheaded. Weeding was pretty dreadful. It hadn’t rained in a while, so the soil was hard and the weeds broke off in an unsatisfying way.

Henry shook off his bad attitude when the sun shined down on him. He arms glowed in the sun, and he felt the hair on his head grow warm. The sky was blue, dotted with small, fluffy white clouds. It looked like a field of cloud sheep. Down the street, he heard kids’ voices. The bouncing of a basketball echoed. A small child squealed on a swing set. Henry smiled to himself. He moved onto the flower garden where he scared a mole out of hiding. It trod awkwardly down the row of flowers until it disappeared into its tunnel. Henry reminded himself to tell his dad. A mole could destroy the garden.

With a steady hand, Henry clipped off dead flowers. He made his way down the row until at last he reached the end. He stood for a moment, admiring the garden. It looked refreshed. He felt proud of the work he had done.

By now, even more neighbor kids were outside. Henry walked toward the house, ready to start his video game, but he stopped. “Nah,” he said out loud. And he took off running down the street to join in the game of basketball.