A Picnic in the Park
Timmy is going on a picnic. It is his first one. He has never been to a picnic before. He is excited. He is more excited than his sister. He wants to go right now.
Timmy does not want his sister to go. His mom says his sister has to come. A picnic is a family treat. It is not for only Timmy. Timmy thinks it does not matter. He is going. That is all that matters.
Mom says they have to go shopping first. Timmy does not like shopping. Mom says he will this kind of shopping. They are going to get food. They need it for the picnic. Mom says Timmy can pick his own food. His sister can pick her own food too.
At the store Timmy is careful. He wants just special foods. He chooses chocolate cake. He chooses ice cream. He picks out some candy.
His sister does not pick good foods. She chooses a roast beef sandwich. She gets olives and cheese. She wants Greek salad and potato salad. She gets some salami. She only gets one good food. She chooses a piece of cheesecake.
They take their food home. Mom packs all the food in a cooler. She puts ice on top of that. She puts some drinks in the cooler. She packs for a long time. Mom has a lot of food to pack.
Mom puts the food in the car. She puts it in the trunk. Timmy and his sister get in the car. Mom gets in to drive. She tells them to use seat belts.
Timmy sees lots of things on the ride. He sees other cars, trees, and buildings. He sees people walking. He sees the car eat the street. He sees the car spit it back out. He cannot see the tires of the car.
Mom pulls into the park. It is full of trees and paths. It looks like the woods. There are swing sets and slides. There are picnic tables. There are picnic grills for cooking. Everywhere the park is alive.
Timmy jumps out of the car. He wants to go explore. He wants to go right now. His sister won't let him. She tells him to wait for Mom.
"Why do I have to wait?" Timmy whines. "We are here. I want to go look around. You cannot tell me no. You are not Mom."
Mom hears Timmy whining. "Timmy, stop complaining." she says. "Your sister is right. We have to do some things first. You can go exploring later. Right now we have to pick a spot."
"Pick a spot for what?" Timmy asks. He does not understand what Mom means. They are at the park. They do not have to go further. He wonders what a spot is.
His sister laughs. She thinks Timmy is too funny. "We need a spot for the picnic silly." she says. "Picnics are not held in the car. We have to pick a table. It has to be just right. It has to be close to the playground."
Mom nods her head. She is smiling. "Yes it has to be that. Our spot also has to have shade. it is not fun to picnic in the sun. It is better under a shade tree."
Mom lets Timmy pick the spot. He chooses a table under a big tree. There is lots of shade. It is next to a picnic grill. There is a big trash can near it. The playground is close. It is the perfect spot.
Mom, Timmy, and his sister set up. They bring the food from the car. They bring the toys from the trunk. They set a cloth on the table. They set the cooler on top. The cooler holds the cloth down. They are ready to have their picnic.
Mom says Timmy can go explore. She says it is time for that now. Timmy takes off down a wooded path. He cannot wait to see everything. He wonders what he will see on his adventure.
Timmy sees many plants. He sees lizards and insects. He sees a cool green spider. He puts a bug magnifier over it. It has markings like a smile. He thinks it the spider is nice. He takes it back to his mother.
His sister is playing cards with his mother. He shows her the spider he caught. Mom tells him the spider isn't smiling. She thinks he should let it go. Outside is its home. It needs to stay in its home.
Timmy puts the spider on a tree. It crawls away. He starts toward the path again. Mom calls to him. She says it is time to eat. He cannot go exploring right now. He needs to eat lunch.
Timmy grabs his sweets from the cooler. He eats and eats. He eats almost all of his candy. He eats all of his chocolate. He cannot eat the ice cream. It is melted. Timmy thinks ice cream isn't a picnic food.
His sister eats her yucky food. She eats with Mom. They eat healthy foods. They do not rush the picnic. Timmy wishes they would hurry up. They are taking too much time.
He tries to hurry them up. He snacks more on his sweets. His tummy starts to hurt. He does not feel good at all. He wants to go home. He wants to take a nap.
Mom and his sister aren't ready to go. They do not have tummy aches. They want to play games. They want to play hopscotch. Timmy lies down on the picnic bench.
Timmy's sister draws hopscotch on the sidewalk. She is not careful. She draws it in the sun. His sister uses lots of color for it. It is a pretty hopscotch, but too hot.
Mom and his sister play hopscotch. They play a few games. It is too hot to play more. His sister wins. She tosses the stone better.
Mom says it is time for a walk. Timmy does not want to walk. he does not feel good. Mom says it is what he ate. Timmy knows this can't be true. He ate only the good tasting foods. He did not eat yucky tasting foods. His Mom and his sister ate those.
His sister tells him he has to go. They can find treasures in nature she says. She wants to get a treasure. She keeps treasures in her treasure box. She wants something to remember today by.
Mom says he has to go walking. She will not let him stay alone. He has to help his sister. She will need his help to find treasures. He pouts. It is not fair he thinks.
His sister runs ahead of his mom. Timmy lags behind. He does not want to look for treasure. He wants to go home. His tummy feels worse. He is hot. He is thirsty. He does not feel good.
His sister squeals. She holds up a pretty mushroom. It is different than any other mushrooms. It has lots of colors. She says it is the treasure she wants. Timmy makes a face. It is just a stupid mushroom. It is not special to him.
His sister runs back to him. She tells him to hold the mushroom. He does not want to hold it. He wants to throw it on the ground. He wants to stomp on it. He doesn't want his sister to have it.
Then the mushroom moves. Timmy’s eyes get very big. Mushrooms do not move. He is afraid of the moving mushroom. It will not stop moving!
Timmy watches it. The mushroom changes. Now Timmy knows why it has colors. He understands it is not a mushroom. Timmy is holding two lizards. He likes his sister’s treasure now.
He holds both of the lizards. He chases his screaming sister. He chases her to the picnic spot. He forgets about his tummy. Teasing his sister is better. He is glad he found the treasure. It is the best treasure of all.
Mom comes behind them. She is laughing. She tells Timmy the lizards must stay. The park is their home. They would not be happy away from it. They need to stay with their friends.
Timmy lets the lizards go. He laughs at his sister. She does not want a treasure now. It does not matter. Timmy got a treasure. That is what matters to Timmy.
Timmy helps his mom clean up. His sister helps too. They carry the trash to the trash can. They put away the extra food. They fold the cloth on the table. Everything goes into the car. It looks like they were never there.
As they get in the car Timmy waves. He waves goodbye to the park. He says goodbye to the lizards. He is happy and his sister is pouting. His mom is smiling. It has been a good day.
