At the end of the day Mommy hugs me and asks, “What happened today?  What did you do?”

 

After I put my dirty socks into the hamper and brush my teeth, I say, “Well, this is what I did today.”

 

“I went to Denny’s house.  Denny’s Dad made banana oat bran muffins.  We counted the turtles and changed the water in the fish tank.  I put wood chips in the rabbit’s hutch.  Denny’s gerbils are going to have babies!  Denny promised me three!  Please?”

 

At the end of the day Daddy nuzzles up close to ask, “What happened today?  What did you do?”

 

It hurts a bit because of all my chicken spots but I shrug my shoulders and say, “Well, this is what I did today.”

 

“I was itchy all day.  Nana told me not to fuss. “Your spots will go away,” she said.  Even though I was gloomy, Nana tried real hard to cheer me up.  I wanted to scratch the spots so badly.  Crying is a kid’s way of being upset. I don’t think that these spots will ever go away!”

 

At the end of the day Mama hands out a towel to me and asks, “ Que paso hoy?    Que hiciste, pequeño?”

 

When I surface for air, rub the water from my eyes and step out of the tub, I say, “Well, this is what I did today.”

 

“I passed my swimming test!  I was so excited that I forgot to hold my breath and I swallowed lots of water!  But I floated on my second try!  I sewed the patch onto my suit all by myself.  I am a Blowfish!  I’ll be a Porpoise next and then an Orca!  I’ll practice real hard until I am a lifeguard with a whistle!”

 

At the end of the day Poppa shuts the book and says ‘The End’ and asks, “What happened today?  What did you do?”

 

Squinting to see if I can ask for just one more story I say, “Well, this is what I did today.”

 

“I scared a garter snake!  I really did!  I was looking for snails under the broccoli when I looked straight at a snake that was staring at me!  I was going to yell S N A K E and run away but the snake evaporated into thin air!  Snakes are scared of little kids, you know.”

 

At the end of the day Mom pulls my sweatshirt over my head and asks, “What happened today?  What did you do?”

 

My chin gets caught in my sweatshirt and I have a hard time saying, “This is what I did today.”

 

“I rode my bike to Depot Street with Denny and his Mom.  We rode to Goodspeed Island to look for pirate treasure.  Look at these cool shells I found!  Denny and I skipped rocks while his mom picked buckets of blueberries.  We fed the swan family breadcrumbs.  Even the grouchy old grandfather swan swam over for crumbs.”

 

At the end of the day Dad pops the last of the mashed potato into my mouth and asks, “What happened today?  What did you do?”

 

After swallowing, wiping my chin and taking some time to think, I say, “Well, this is what I did today.”

 

“I raked all the leaves into an enormous pile, just like you showed me how. But the wind blew my pile of leaves back under the trees!  So I raked and raked a pile bigger than the first.  Grandpa helped me put the leaves into the recycle bags.   I saw snow geese flying I a V.  Winter is coming!”

 

At the end of the day Momma braids up her hair and asks, “What happened today?  What did you do?”

 

And because I am really sleepy … I have a tough time holding up my head … I can’t remember what I did … I say, “Momma, what happened today, what did you do?”

1995 Revised 2010 KBP