Chapter 5: Love and Help Your Parents

Eddie was an only child. His mother worked very hard.  She had 2 jobs and still managed to volunteer at school and with Eddie’s baseball team. She wasn’t the coach, but she always brought juice and frozen grapes to the games. It was hot and the frozen grapes were freezing cold and crunch sweet.

Eddie and his mother lived in an apartment.  It only had one bedroom, but Eddie had his own bed.  His mother slept on the couch in the bedroom. They couldn’t afford another bed and Eddie kicked in his sleep so his mother had to sleep on the couch.

The neighbors were noisy and sometimes Eddie would crawl beside his other on the couch anyway. When he woke up in the morning, he was always back in his own bed. He didn’t know how that happened, but he didn’t mind.

“What’s wrong, Ma?” he said.

“Oh nothing, honey,” she replied, wiping her eyes.  “I just got a little something in my eye.”

Eddie knew that wasn’t the truth, but he really didn’t know what to say.  Instead, he went into the bedroom and opened his drawer where he kept his socks.  Hidden in a small box was money he had been saving “for a rainy day”.  (Actually, he really wanted to save for an X-Box.)  He took out $4.00 and went out to the living room.

“Ma, let’s go get some ice cream.  My treat.”

Eddie’s mother put her arms around him and said…

• “Oh honey, it’s okay.  You don’t need to do that.”
• “Oh honey, you totally made my day!  I love ice cream!”

What do YOU think his mother should say and why?

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