Top 5 Short Stories for Kids

1. THE BATHROOM DOOR

My step sister and I share a bathroom that joins our two bedrooms. The door that leads into my step sister’s room and into the bathroom is a pocket door. A pocket door is the kind of door that slides in and out of a slot in the wall, but it is also the kind of door that jams easily.

When I first moved in, my step sister cheryl and I would constantly try to get the door to cooperate, but no matter how many times we kicked it and hit it into place, it always found a way to jam itself again. After a couple of months of struggling with the door we decided to surrender, and just allow it to remain wide open. We thought that not fighting with the door was the only answer, but last night we realized that that our solution is ineffective.

I have mentioned before that we are having a family reunion at the end of June, many people are going to be staying at our house. Unfortunately my sister Eva and I are going to be in New Jersey for our cousin’s wedding during the reunion, so we will not be able to see all of the relatives. The up side to this dilemma is that my parents can allow relatives to stay in our rooms. The only problem is that the bathroom door does not close.

For my sister and I, the door not closing isn’t much of a problem.The door hasn’t worked properly in months, and privacy has become a thing of the past. It wasn’t until last night when the door really seemed to be an issue. My family  realized that the cousins staying in the rooms might want some privacy.

 Privacy was not something that occurred to Cheryl of myself, because both Cheryl and I have become accustomed to the open door policy. We have become used to working around one another’s schedules and not getting in each others way, but the truthfully what makes the door dilemma manageable is that we don’t really care about it much anymore. We don’t care that we have no privacy, or that one of us has to shower while the other brushes their teeth. In fact, as long as we get to school on time we don’t really care if we have to shower together.

2. A DAY AT THE BEACH

My sisters and I rode our bikes down to the beach today. I don’t normally go with them on their little adventures, but today was extremely nice out, so I decided to tag along. The second we set off for the beach I remembered why I never come on these little adventures, i’m a klutz.

The trek was something to sophisticated for my hand eye coordination. I fell off my bike multiple times, grazed the side of a wall, and nearly knocked my sister over. When we finally arrived at the beach, I turned my back to the waves, lost my balance, and swallowed multiple gulps of sea water.

I’m glad Cheryl and Eva can go to the beach together, because i’m a complete killjoy when it comes to outdoor adventures. Next time I think i’ll go to the pool.

3. MOTHERS DAY

Today is mothers day and probably the nicest, most relaxing day in quite some time. Mother’s day is always a very special day for everyone, but in a blended family it’s the day of all days. In our family, Mother’s day is the one day out of the year in which my sister and I are ensured a fun outing with just our mom. Any other day of the year and our step siblings would tag along. It was nice to know that on this particular day our step siblings were content to be with their own mother.

One of the greatest things about my mother is that she doesn’t believe that Mother’s day should be all about her, in fact she believes it should be about all of us. Today we went and go get  our nails done and then we saw a movie. I can’t even count the numerous times people have told me they spent their Mother’s day weeding the garden and making dinner. While it is true that my sister and I cleaned the kitchen after our step father made dinner, it wasn’t something that we weren’t used to doing, and it wasn’t an over the top chore.

I hope that my kids will see Mother’s day as a fun day, and not a day when I force them to be slaves and work like dogs.

4. EVEN JOEY CAN MAKE FRIENDS

This past weekend my mother and step father were out of town, and my siblings and I were in charge of taking care of the house. This is a task that my step brother Mark usually takes care of, but because he was having oral surgery the rest of us were responsible for taking care of the pets.

Friday after school my sister Eva went over to check on our dog Joey and the rest of the pets. Unaware that she didn’t put Joey back into the side yard where he sleeps, she left and went over to our dad’s house.

The next day our mother got a call from the tenants saying that Joey had been left out and that they had taken care of him. The tenants also said that Joey had gotten along with their dog.  This was shocking to all of us, because a) Joey doesn’t  doesn’t get along with other dogs, and Joey hates men.

When I came over the next day and saw Joey frolicking in the grass with the other dog I was overjoyed. This has been the first time that Joey has actually been able to truly embrace his new life. Just by seeing the two get along made me finally realize that our dog, and ultimately our entire family have overcome the obstacle of getting along with other people.

5. THE NAME GAME

The family reunion is coming up… the Shady reunion. Shady is my step father’s last name, and although it’s a nice name, it’s not the most flattering name in the world. I mean who wants to be a shady person?

When we were planning the reunion months ago one of my aunts suggested that we all make ceramic plates and make one of the requirements that it needed to have the name Shady written on it somewhere. I protested, after all Shady isn’t my last name, why should I have to write it across my plate?

As it turned out a vast majority of the people going to the reunion did not actually possess the name Shady. In fact I estimate that only ten people still have the name. My step father is one of seven, two boys and five girls, so it is easy to see how the name lost its impact.

However, I do find it funny that I am often asked if I am going to change my name to Shady. The answer is no, and for a very good reason; I already have a last name, and I don’t intend to change it. My hesitation to change my last name has nothing to do with the fact that Paul is my step father, and everything to do with my own preservation.