The Watermelon Radish

The Watermelon Radish
A Kid's Point of Food

Sunday, August 18, 2013

Easter Bunny Blues

Hey Everyone!
This is a story that I wrote for my writing class about growing up, and my teacher said that I did a great job on it.  I thought that I'd share it with you!





Easter Bunny Blues


  It dawned upon me that I was old just last spring.  Well, not really old, just old enough.  It happened on Easter Sunday.  There was always a family gathering on Easter, and as we pulled up I could see the brightly colored eggs littered across the yard.  That was the first sign.  In the past I never saw them, or at least I thought I didn’t.  Seeing the eggs concerned me, but I didn’t have much time to dwell upon it.  The younger children had begun to arrive.  They were all smiles, stuffed animals, spring colors, and Easter baskets.  I hadn’t brought mine.   
        I walked through the door,
      “Hey everyone!”   
        I was greeted with enthusiastic replies.  My little cousin Sadie who barely meets my knee announced,
“Kellen!  Look at what the Easter Bunny brought me!”   
       She was clutching a stuffed purple bunny.   
     “That’s great Sadie!” 
     “When’s the egg hunt?” She asked.  
      Smiling I said, “Looks like it’s just starting. Do you want some help?”   
     She ran out the door shouting, “Noooo!”   

    Following her outside, I stood and watched the kids flying through the yard, It was like a game of leap-frog.   Their pastel baskets were slowly filling up with every type of egg you could imagine.  Each time they emerged from the grass, they seemed to have added another egg to the pile wrapped in strands of wicker.  The sound of their giggles and cries of joy rang through my ears.   Even Striker the old black lab had a purple egg in his mouth.   I didn’t join them because I was too old to participate in their games.  I would if I could, but I couldn’t.   Maybe I was waiting for someone to hand me a basket and tell me,
“Go Kellen!  There’s still more eggs to be found!”   
     But they didn’t.

     From behind me, I heard Uncle Timo snort,  
    “Feeling a bit old there Kell?”
    My reply surprised even me, “Yeah.”  What had happened anyway?  Just two years ago I had been out there gallivanting in the spring sunshine with them.  Maybe I had broken some invisible barrier that separated me from them.  I remember thinking that I was just being paranoid, but then the adults started teasing me.  Uncle Chris pointed out,  
    “Maybe now we can start hiring you to play Santa at Christmas!”  Laughter.  
  “ Maybe you should go and hang out with Gigi in the kitchen, because you’re one of the oldies out here.”  More laughter.  
    “I’m really not that old, just too old to go collect eggs.”   
      I forced a smile.  An egg flew into my hands from an unknown source.   
     Uncle Chris smirked, “Here, take your last egg.  Treat it like an initiation into adulthood.”   
     I joked, “The moment I stepped out of the car I could see these eggs, the Easter Bunny didn’t hide them very well.”
He shrugged, “I got a late start this morning, but what’re you gonna do.”  I shuddered, he had just out and said that the Easter Bunny wasn’t real. 

    During lunch, I crept into the playroom and saw Sadie and cousin Vivian playing Barbies.  I crouched down with them,  
  “What’s going on girls?”   
   Vivian pointed at me, “Only kids are allowed in here, no adults!”   
    I sighed, “I’m a kid; I’m only 13!”   
   She shook her head, “ No old people allowed!  You probably never play with Barbies!”  
   Boy what an attitude.  I had and I loved playing with them. I still had a few boxes of them at home.  It was useless to argue; I was old in their eyes. 

   Later, at home, I was in my room.  I wasn’t that old.  I still went to birthday parties and played pretend.  I still hung out with my friends, just didn’t call it a playdate.  I still listened to music, just not princess lullabies.  I still had dreams, only mine were more about becoming a tennis star than a unicorn.  Maybe I was old.  The Easter bunny probably hated me now for not participating in his holiday,  but who was he to interfere with growing up?



Happy early Easter eveyone!!
Watermelon Radish

8 comments:

  1. Beautifully written, Kellen. As usual. You have a very nice and natural way with dialogue. It's a good thing that adults still get Christmas presents, don't you think?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh, Kellen, I could just see you. It is so beautifully written. I want to see you again as I continue to admire your creative, maturing, charming self. One day soon...
    Kitty

    ReplyDelete
  3. So very creative Kellen! Your story was so descriptive it felt like the egg hunt was only yesterday, keep up the amazing work!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Kellen, I want to thank you for "Watermelon Radish" . I love reading it, it brightens my day!
    I think your expressions are wonderful and I look forward to your next one.

    Fondly
    Gene

    ReplyDelete
  5. What a great job! I remember seeing Stryker with an egg in his mouth and Sadie running around frantically trying to find eggs. I miss egg hunts! Thanks for reminding me of what a fun day we had.

    ReplyDelete
  6. "You ARE growing up...Into a beautiful writer".
    Filis from Lansargues.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Kellen,
    I think the story was great - in fact, I think all your entries have been quite amazing. I talked to your Mom about it and told her that I'm working with several independent publishers down here in Florida and if you ever decide to publish let me know. We just did a anthology for a group of middle schools down here and it was quite interesting to read their work. You are definitely way above the curve and I can see you becoming quite a successful author one of these days! Keep up the good work.
    Your mom's friend,
    Kathy Shea

    ReplyDelete
  8. What a beautiful struggle to go through in life.
    I feel the same way - sad to see you grow up but so so proud of you too.
    You are amazing ! Keep it up!!
    love,
    mommy

    ReplyDelete