Gifts for Mom

Gifts for Mom

Annie found the whirr and sway of the vacuum cleaner over the thick, faded blue carpet comforting as she recalled this morning’s events. She didn’t mind cleaning, generally, but today she felt even more driven to scrub, sweep, and vacuum away the cloud of hurt feelings that seemed to have engulfed her. Her two older sisters, Sadie and Rebecca, had barely helped clear the breakfast dishes before scrambling to get out the front door and taking off for the beach in Sadie’s car.

Annie understood why her older sisters left to hang out with kids their own age, singing along to the radio as they pulled out of the driveway, but it still stung a little. Today, though, Annie was especially frustrated because it was the first Saturday of the summer—the day they typically spent with Mom to celebrate another year of her teaching. What’s more, yesterday marked the end of Mom’s twentieth year as a teacher. While Annie had looked forward to celebrating together, Sadie and Rebecca had rushed off with their friends, but not before presenting gifts that made Annie’s seem childish.

Over breakfast Sadie handed an expertly wrapped box to Mom. Annie noted the blush in their mother’s cheeks as she gingerly unfolded the neat corners so as not to tear or tarnish the brilliant purple paper. She was obviously pleased by the box’s contents: a new pair of running shoes.

“I love them,” Annie heard her mother say into Sadie’s ear adding an emphatic “Thank you.”

Then came Rebecca’s gift. It was a necklace, which Rebecca fastened around their mother’s neck immediately. Truthfully, Annie thought the jewelry to be slightly showy, but the delicate gold loops gleamed.

After those gifts, Annie hardly even wanted to present hers. It was a hand-drawn card that pledged to clean the house in the morning and spend the afternoon with their mother. It was the same gift she’d given her mother on previous occasions, but she suddenly felt that she’d outgrown the idea.

Now, Annie did her best to scrub the kitchen and tidy up the living room, but she couldn’t help but think of all the better options—a bouquet of fresh hydrangeas from the market, or that wide-brimmed black hat she spotted at the mall that her mother could wear in the garden. She could have at least bought some special stationery from the card store.

“What do you say you put the vacuum away and we have ice cream for lunch?” Annie’s mother asked, standing over the table. She briefly surveyed the scene. “Looks great in here, by the way. You’ve exceeded my expectations.”

“That sounds nice, Mom.” Annie switched off the vacuum and wrapped the cord to the side. Mom knew how much Annie liked ice cream. “Are you sure that’s what you want to do, though? What about that new deli you liked so much last time?”

“It’s my day, and I want ice cream for lunch. Let’s go out for it."

“My treat!” Annie said. She might not be able to afford a fancy gift like her sisters were able, but she could certainly scrap together some allowance for a couple scoops of mint chocolate chip or butter-pecan.

The ice-cream parlor was a pleasant escape from the heat. Annie and her mother both got double-scoop waffle cones and sat down at a table in the window overlooking the fountain in the courtyard.

“Now this is what I call lunch,” Mom said with a laugh, as if they were getting away with something. Mom seemed more relaxed than usual—probably just in a good mood after concluding another successful school year and being showered with gifts, Annie thought. As usual, her mother regaled her with tales of when the girls were kids, and a trip to the ice cream shop meant faces, hands, and shirts covered with dripping chocolate. Annie recalled the games she’d played with her sisters, hiding together in the booths or under the tables, embarrassing their mother to no end. As they reminisced, Annie seemed to forget herself for a moment, until she finally looked down to see a drip of ice cream rolling down her hand. “Some things never change,” Mom said, grabbing a napkin, and they shared a laugh.

On the ride home, Annie rolled down the window and turned to the jazz station, her mother’s favorite.

“Now you’re really scoring some points,” Mom said with a laugh.

Annie blushed. “Well, if I can’t get you a nice gift, it’s the least I can do,” she said.

Her mother turned to her. “Are you kidding me? You gave me exactly what I wanted.”

“A clean house and an ice-cream cone?” Annie asked with a smirk.

Her mother laughed. “Well, yes, I did want that, but this was what I really wanted, to spend some time together. You and Rebecca and Sadie are always so busy with homework and soccer and volleyball and seeing your friends that I sometimes miss you girls, even though we live in the same house!”

Annie knew what she meant. She thought about her sisters zooming off that morning. She realized that if given the opportunity, she’d pick an afternoon riding around with them over a necklace any day.

“Maybe when they get back from the beach,” said Annie, “we can put on a movie and make popcorn.”

“That would be lovely,” Mom said, her eyes lighting up.

Multiple Choice

Read this sentence from “Gifts for Mom.”

“I love them,” Annie heard her mother say into Sadie’s ear adding an emphatic “Thank you.”

Which best defines the word emphatic as it is used in the sentence

above?

• discrete

• forceful

• prompt

• quiet

Multiple Choice

In "Gifts for Mom," Annie worries that her gift was childish compared with her sisters' gifts. Read this excerpt from the passage.

Her mother turned to her. “Are you kidding me? You gave me exactly what I wanted.”

Which paraphrase of this excerpt uses the subjunctive mood correctly?

• Annie's mother spoke as if she was surprised by Annie's feelings and said Annie gave her just what she wanted.

• Annie's mother spoke as if she were surprised by Annie's feelings and said Annie had given her just what she wanted.

• Annie's mother spoke as if she was surprised my Annie's feelings and

  said Annie had gave her just what she had wanted.

• Annie's mother spoke as if she was surprised my Annie's feelings and

  said Annie was giving her just what she had wanted.

Multiple Choice

Which sentence from the passage “Gifts for Mom” best illustrates the idea that Annie feels left out by her sisters?

• “Her two older sisters, Sadie and Rebecca, had barely helped clear the breakfast dishes before scrambling to get out the front door and

  taking off for the beach in Sadie’s car.”

• “Today, though, Annie was especially frustrated because it was the first Saturday of the summer—the day they typically spent with Mom to celebrate another year of her teaching.”

• “She might not be able to afford a fancy gift like her sisters were able, but she could certainly scrap together some allowance for a couple scoops of mint chocolate-chip or butter-pecan.”

• “Annie recalled the games she’d played with her sisters, hiding together in the booths or under the tables, embarrassing their mother to no end.”