A Night Away From Home

by Sharon Hendricks

 

 Amy was very excited.  She was going to spend the night at her grandparent’s house, and it was her first night away from home.  She looked at her hamster, Honey.

“Will Honey be OK while I’m gone?” she asked Mommy, who was packing her suitcase.

“She’ll be fine, Amy,” Mommy said, giving her a hug. “She’ll be waiting here when you get home tomorrow.”

 Amy went over to Honey’s cage and carefully picked up Honey in her hands. “I’ll be home tomorrow, I promise.”

“Come on, Amy.  Grandmom and Grandpop will be here soon to pick you up.”  Her mother picked up her suitcase and watched as Amy put her pet back.

 Amy followed Mommy downstairs, but now that the time was almost here, she was a little scared.  She had never spent the night away from home before.

 She sat down on the sofa, looked down at her suitcase, which her Mommy had put there, and tried to be brave.

“You’re going to have a good time at Grandmom and Grandpop’s,” Mommy said with a smile. “I happen to know that they have some special things planned to do with you.”

That made Amy feel a little better and she smiled back at Mommy.

Just then Daddy came into the room carrying Michael, who had just woken up from his nap, and sat down on the sofa next to her.

“Is my big girl ready to go visit Grandmom and Grandpop?” Daddy asked with a smile.

“Yes,” she said a little uncertainly.  “Will you and Mommy and Michael miss me?”

“Of course we’ll miss you,” Daddy said. “But we know that you’ll be home tomorrow and that you’ll have a great time with Grandmom and Grandpop.”

 Daddy put his arm around her and drew her close.  Even Michael reached out his little arms to hug her and she leaned forward to give him a kiss.

Just then the doorbell rang. “Grandmom and Grandpop are here,” Mommy said, picking up Amy’s suitcase and going over to the door.

 Amy stood up and so did Daddy.  She went over to Mommy, who had just opened the door.

“Hi, Amy,” Grandmom said, giving her a hug.

“There’s our favorite girl,” Grandpop said. “Are you ready to have some fun?”

 Amy looked at her parents, gave them both a last hug and kiss, and nodded.

Grandpop took Amy’s suitcase and the three of them walked out the door.

 Amy turned back to see Mommy and Daddy waving from the door.

When they were all in Grandpop’s big car and going down the road, Amy was very quiet.

“Are you okay, Amy?” Grandmom asked, turning in her seat to look at her.  Amy nodded.

“Grandpop and I have lots of fun things planned to do today. I was thinking maybe we could bake some cookies,” Grandmom said.

 Amy perked up a little. She loved baking cookies at Grandmom and Grandpop’s house.  Grandmom always let her lick the spoon.

“And I thought maybe we could go visit the farm,” Grandmom said with a smile.  The farm was so close to Grandmom and Grandpop’s house that they could walk there. 

“And tonight for dinner, I thought we’d have hotdogs and macaroni and cheese,” Grandmom finished.

By the time they were at Grandmom and Grandpop’s house, Amy had a big smile on her face.

The rest of the day, Amy forgot how sad she had been.  Grandmom and Grandpop took her over to the farm, where she saw the new baby chicks, the lambs, and the funny baby pigs.

When they got back to the house, she made yummy chocolate chip cookies with Grandmom.  It wasn’t until after dinner that Amy started feeling a little homesick.

“Are you ready for your bath?” Grandmom asked. “We should get you nice and clean before bed.”

“I think Honey misses me.  Maybe I should go home,” Amy said.

“Well, I have one last surprise for you,” Grandmom said. “Let me show it to you and then you can decide if you really want to go home or not.”

Grandmom took her into the room where she was going to sleep.  On the bed was a small bag.

“Go ahead and look inside,” Grandmom said with a smile.

 Amy went over and looked into the bag.  Inside was a small bear.

“I got him for you so that you would have a friend to sleep with whenever you came here to spend the night.  I think he would be lonely without you, don’t you?” Grandmom asked, coming over and putting her arm around Amy.

 Amy took the bear out of the bag and hugged it to her, then nodded.

“Let’s go get your bath and then I’ll read you a story,” Grandmom suggested.

 Amy took her bath and listened to most of the story, but fell asleep before Grandmom reached the end.

The next day, Grandmom and Grandpop took her back home after breakfast.  After they left, Mommy and Daddy sat down with Amy.

“Did you have fun with Grandmom and Grandpop?” Mommy asked.

“Yes!” Amy said with excitement. “When can I go again?”

 Mommy and Daddy just looked at each other and smiled as Amy told them about her adventures.