This recording is a production of Wheat Penny Press, read by the author, Rebekah Borucki, copyright 2019.
All rights reserved.
Zara’s Big Messy Day (That Turned Out Okay)
Story by Rebekah Borucki
Illustrated by Danielle Pioli
It was Monday morning, and Mama was busy.
Busy making breakfast.
Busy trying to get Zara’s little brother, Sam, to eat breakfast.
Busy getting ready for work.
This is what every morning is like, Zara thought.
Zara never made trouble.
She was in the second grade and had a lot of important jobs and responsibilities.
She always remembered to put her pajamas away, get dressed, and brush her teeth on her own.
Zara even put the cap back on the toothpaste when she was done.
Sam, on the other hand, was always causing a commotion.
Zara did her best to pay him no attention, but ignoring Sam was hard.
Sam crashed into Zara with his toy robot, and her orange juice spilled and splattered all over her school clothes.
“Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!”
Zara yelled as she ran to her bedroom and slammed the door.
“Zara,” Mama said softly. “You seem upset.
I think I know how you feel. I used to stuff so many of my feelings down inside that it felt like I might explode.
Grandma taught me something when I was a little girl that helped me a lot.
Maybe it can help you, too.”
“Next time you start to feel mad or sad or like your feelings are too big to handle, close your eyes.
And with a big breath in, pretend there’s a bunch of flowers under your nose.
Then, blow that big breath out, and pretend you’re blowing out candles—like on a birthday cake!
Zara loved pretending.
Close your eyes, Zara said to herself.
Smell the flowers. She took a deep breath in.
Blow out the candles. She blew that big breath out.
When Zara opened her eyes, she could still hear Sam running around the kitchen, and her clothes were still a mess.
But to her surprise, she felt a little better.
At recess, Penelope laughed at Zara’s new light-up shoes.
They were a gift from Daddy, and that made them extra special.
But Penelope didn’t know that.
Or care.
“Hey, everybody, look! Zara’s wearing baby shoes! Goo-goo, gaga!”
Zara clenched her hands into fists and twisted her mouth into a grimace.
She wanted to yell at Penelope.
But then Zara remembered.
She remembered the orange juice.
She remembered Mama’s words.
And she remembered feeling better.
Close your eyes.
Smell the flowers.
Blow out the candles.
When Zara opened her eyes, Penelope wasn’t there.
And Zara felt better, not mad or sad at all.
Mama’s words worked again!
Zara knew to tell her teacher what happened.
Miss Tapper thanked her and promised to help.
Zara felt relieved.
Sam likes Chinese food, so Mama didn’t spend all of dinnertime reminding him to stay in his seat.
After they ate, Zara cleared the table and filled the dishwasher.
She enjoyed helping.
Instead of helping Zara, Sam made a mess with his blocks.
And when Zara tried to build a tower, Sam sent it tumbling to the floor before she was done.
Zara wanted to throw a block at him, but that would only make things worse.
She remembered Mama’s words.
Close your eyes.
Smell the flowers.
Blow out the candles.
When Zara opened her eyes, Sam was still stomping around and making a mess, but she didn’t want to throw blocks at him anymore.
“Mama, can you ask Sam to leave my tower alone?” Zara asked.
Mama pretended the blocks were cars and zoomed them back and forth with Sam.
Zara built a tower so tall that she had to stand on tippy-toes to put the last block on top.
Mama was busy, but she was never too busy to tuck Zara into bed.
Zara told Mama about her day.
She reminded her about the orange juice, and she told her about Penelope teasing her at school.
Zara told Mama how mad she got when Sam knocked over her tower, and about all the times she smelled the flowers and blew out the candles.
"Wow!" exclaimed Mama.
"It sounds like you had a big day. How do you feel?"
"I didn't like how I felt when I got mad at Sam or when Penelope teased me,” Zara replied.
"But smelling the flowers and blowing out the candles helped a lot.”
“That’s wonderful,” Mama said with a smile.
“All of those feelings are normal. And it’s also okay to want to feel better if you’re feeling upset. Now you know how to help yourself feel better on your own. Would you like a hug?”
Zara grinned from ear to ear and threw her arms around Mama.
Zara’s BIG messy day turned out even BETTER than okay.
The End