Jesus woke up with a gasp. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a robe and a tinfoil hat. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the game room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like Candy Land and jump rope. His mom was planning to make plenty of succotash and Swiss cheese for everyone. Jesus would try to blow out all nine candles on the sea green and red cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Jesus would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a stamp! He hoped it would be an abnormal stamp. His friend Nate had said he would give him a fire hose, and his sister always gave him cool stuff like the necklace she gave him last year. Jesus could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that sandstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his robe. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the valley. He would have to wear a suit instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his tinfoil hat.
He climbed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like mountain air. His mom was standing there with a cheesecloth in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a grunt.
"Hi Mommy!" Jesus replied valiantly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the succotash," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra cilantro. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Jesus replied nimbly. "Do we have the Swiss cheese ready?"
"I'm going to wait until five o'clock to start that," his mother replied ignobly. "It only has to bake at 450 degrees F for thirty-five minutes."
"Okay," Jesus replied frenetically. "I'm gonna go to the game room."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some chicken soup in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the game room first?" he begged.
"It looks just like it always does," his mother replied. "Remember, I'm depending on you to help with the decorating."
"Oh yeah," Jesus responded, as he sat down to his chicken soup. "Let's hang lots of red balloons and cover the bookcase and the dishwasher with violet crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother craftily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv Star, Gail Trott. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a whisk."
"Peachy-keen," Jesus responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a sigh. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."