Saturday's Child by Robin Morgan

Aunt Sally took me shopping so I could buy Mommie pearl earrings. (They weren’t real pearl but almost.) Mommie loved them!But this year Aunt Sally didn’t want to take me shopping for Mommie because Mommie and her had a fight. Aunt Sophie was busy so she couldn’t take me either. So how was I going to buy Mommie her present without anybody to take me? (Never mind Mommie if you see this ha ha I’ll keep saving it up for your birthday, if I can find somebody to take me by then.) Anyway so what was I going to do this year for Mommie’s present on my birthday? I didn’t want to give her another poem or draw another picture. But then I thought of the perfect thing!
    This is what I did. Before my birthday, I mean for maybe a month, I had been a very difficult (spelling?) child. I didn’t mean to, but I guess I was. I had talked back and left my white shoes not polished. And also I acted phony because when Mommie let me go to the library for Saturday afternoon story hour all by myself (because the library is right across the street from our apartment building and Mommie can watch me from the window) I went but then snuck out and ran back across to see if maybe Roberta would like to teach me about the ball thing. But Mommie was still at the window and yelled and so I had to come in and I missed even story hour by being a phony. There were more things I did like that but I don’t want to remember the bad stuff I want to be positive. I was sorry I made Mommie so miserable during that time. So I thought of the perfect present for her! It was to promise for a whole year not to make her miserable, the dearest Mommie in the world! I drew a chart and everything. At the top it has the days of the week. On the side it has a list of things I do that give her nerves or hurt her. This is the list I made.
    To Obey
    Not to Argue
    Not to be Lazy
    Not to Complain
    Not to Talk So Much
    Not to be Selfish
    Not to be a Phony
    Then I gave Mommie the chart and a little box of gold stars I had that you can paste on things. And I told her each week all year we would make up a new chart and I’d try for perfect the whole year until I was 9. Mommie hugged me. Then she said what would happen after I turned 9? So we giggled and she said my grandpa that I’m named for but never knew wouldsay “Left foot right foot” and most of all never stop trying so she said let’s just try a week at a time OK?
    So we did. And now I can tell you on every day of this last week there is a gold star beside every thing on the list! Aunt Sally didn’t have to report bad stuff not once! I didn’t make Mommie miserable or give her nerves all week long!
    Tomorrow Mommie is getting me a surprise privilege because I’m the best child anybody could ever have. Be in suspense like me, Diary! Good night.
    I love you.
    Robin
    Dear Diary ,
    We slept till 9 o’clock! And then Mommie made lots of bacon and toast for Sunday breakfast. Aunt Sally went to Canal Street and Orchard Street in the City with Aunt Sophie, so it was just Mommie and me. We made peanut butter cookies. I made the crisscross designs to flatten the cookies with a fork after we rolled the doe (spell?) into balls on the cookie sheet. Then we took a bubble bath together. Then we played tickle and I got her and she got me and we laughed so hard we almost cried. Then we got all bundled up and went for a walk to Hartley Park and fed the ducks in the pond. There was a mother duck with the baby ducks right behind her in a row. I would love to have a pet but they can give you diseases Mommie says. But I’m glad I don’t have brothers or sisters like those ducks. I wouldn’t want to share Mommie. I’m glad it’s just us two against the world like Mommie says that even means Aunt Sally. And then we went and ate dinner out at The Beehive restaurant and I had chicken and mashed potatoes with gravy and peach ice cream. Mommie had shrimp salad because