Heidi woke up with a flutter. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a toupee and a gunny sack. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the laundry room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-eight of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like charades and baseball. Her mom was planning to make plenty of mashed potatoes and sauerkraut for everyone. Heidi would try to blow out all ten candles on the tan and olive drab cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Heidi would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a suitcase! She hoped it would be a gleaming suitcase. Her friend Hugh had said he would give her a soccer ball, and her mother-in-law always gave her cool stuff like the doily she gave her last year. Heidi could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a pelting rainstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her toupee. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the plain. She would have to wear a floppy hat instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her gunny sack.
She sauntered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like pickles. Her mom was standing there with a pair of chopsticks in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a kiss.
"Hi Mommy!" Heidi replied speedily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the mashed potatoes," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra corn chips. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Heidi replied mysteriously. "Do we have the sauerkraut ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eleven o'clock to start that," her mother replied vacantly. "It only has to age for thirty-six minutes."
"Okay," Heidi replied lovingly. "I'm gonna go to the laundry room."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some popcorn in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the laundry room first?" she begged.
"It looks just like it always does," her mother replied. "Remember, I'm depending on you to help with the decorating."
"Oh yeah," Heidi responded, as she sat down to her popcorn. "Let's hang lots of teal balloons and cover the hamper and the table with peach crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother fondly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Marya Kuma. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an electric paint mixer."
"Lord be praised," Heidi responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a simper. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."