When Lily woke up, everything seemed normal. Her room was neat, but could have been neater. Her mirror was clean, but could have been cleaner.
And when she opened her dresser, all of her clothes were nicely folded, but could have been nicer.
But when she got dressed in her favorite bright pink pinafore, she realized that the dress barely fit her.
Ugh, she thought, I really liked that dress! I\u2019ll just ask Mommy to buy me a new dress when I get downstairs. It fit when she got it for my birthday\u2026
That’s when it clicked. Seriously, Lily? She berated herself as ran downstairs, where she could smell her mother and sister cooking (her favorite) blueberry pancakes.
As she rushed into the living room, she saw her father organizing a neat pile of presents.
\u201cHAPPY BIRTHDAY!\u201d exclaimed her family, realizing she had finally come downstairs. Today was Lily\u2019s 9th birthday, but somehow she had forgotten!
\u201cCome, Lily, we made your favorite!\u201d Her mother called from the table \u201cAnd Jacob, leave those presents alone. They look fine, and you’re fussing over them as if they’re getting their picture taken!\u201d
As Lily munched on her breakfast, savoring the sweet treat, she thought about her presents. Lily knew her family wasn\u2019t rich, but they could certainly get her something nice. Regardless, she was just happy that she got such a nice surprise first thing in the morning.
What could her sister have gotten her? Probably a glittery hair clip or some other pretty accessory.
Her mom? Maybe a chocolate collection, or some rainbow lollipops? Sometimes sweet and sugary, she thought, just like Mama.
And what about daddy? There was really no telling with him. He always got the best presents. Last year it was that LED toy octopus. The year before that it was a glow in the dark watercolor set.
Her best friend, Lucy Robbins also was awesome at picking exciting gifts, like a hair chalk set and brownie baking kit.
As she daydreamed about her gifts, she suddenly noticed her family gathering their dishes, then making their way to the living room. She quickly rinsed her plate, and hurried over to join them.
\u201cI want Lily to open mine first!\u201d whined Jill. \u201cCalm down!\u201d reprimanded her mother. \u201c There isn\u2019t a child!\u201d
\u201cMama, it’s ok. May I please open my present?\u201d Lily pleaded. \u201cHooray!\u201d exclaimed Jill, handing her one of the biggest presents.
\u201cA sundress!\u201d cried Lily, staring in amazement at the sunset yellow lace dress in her hands. \u201cHow much was it, and how did you afford it?!\u201d
\u201cWell, It was $35 dollars, and I babysat the Collins\u2019s kids for a fortnight, and got $45 dollars. Do the math.\u201d
\u201cThanks, Jill!\u201d Lily gushed, rushing to hug her big sister. \u201cLily, you can open mine next.\u201d said her mother, handing her a present wrapped in maroon wrapping paper.
\u201cCandy!\u201d cheered Lily, taking out a huge gift basket filled to the brim with a million different flavors of taffy.
\u201cNext time you see Mr. Quinn, thank him for giving me a discount on these, ok?\u201d \u201cYes, Mama.\u201d said Lily, not taking her eyes off the sweets.
\u201cOk, Lily, time for mine!\u201d said Lily\u2019s father, coffee brown eyes twinkling. What’s it gonna be? What’s it gonna be? Lily thought.
\u201cIt’s\u2026A book?\u201d Lily flipped to the front cover, and read the title. \u201cWendy the Witch of the Woods\u201d.
The book didn\u2019t even look new, much less interesting. It had a battered leather cover, with a faded picture of a lady in a white sundress picking gardenias.
\u201cIt was an old childhood favorite of mine, read it more times than one could count!\u201d Lily\u2019s father smiled proudly, while Lily just stared at him in disbelief.
This old thing was supposed to be her birthday present? Lily couldn\u2019t imagine the leather-bound novel being anything like her previous birthday presents from her father.
Nevertheless, she had promised herself she would be thankful, right? \u201cThanks, Dad.\u201d she murmured half-heartedly.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
When Lily woke up, everything seemed normal. Her room was neat, but could have been neater. Her mirror was clean, but could have been cleaner.And when she opened her dresser, all of her clothes were nicely folded, but could have been nicer.But when she got dressed in her favorite bright pink pinafore, she realized that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theshadestory.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theshadestory.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theshadestory.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theshadestory.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theshadestory.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/theshadestory.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15,"href":"https:\/\/theshadestory.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14\/revisions\/15"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theshadestory.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theshadestory.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theshadestory.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}