This is what I got:
Leo: Volleyball.
Adrienne: The faithfulness of God. More faith in sun rising than in God coming through.
Aaron: Traditionalist versus modernism. Or...the effect of music on emotions.
Amy: Peas. Just peas.
Heather: I don't know. I don't know. Umm, hunting season.
Ryan: A smoothie shake.
Simple question. Simple answers. Well, except for Aaron. And Adrienne.
What do I do with such a variety of responses?
What else? Write a story.
Once upon a time, a very short time ago, there was a family of mice. They lived in the Maust pantry and thought they were quite sneaky at gathering tidbits of pastries, granola bars, dried pasta, and sugar. The large bag of dried peas however, they left that one alone. After all, if the human children did not eat peas, the mice children weren't going to either. Maybe it was a trap and they were poison. Certainly the faces that the human children made when presented with peas for supper would indicate just that.
The mice children, especially Luigi and Amos, loved to live in the pantry. At night, they would have races among the shelves, dodging cans, bags, boxes and various sized plastic containers. Those containers were fun to climb on, but so frustrating too. Inside of each container was unreachable food. Just this week, the lady of the house had purchased Cheez-its, and now, there they were, stashed where no mouse could even get just a teensy tiny nibble.
Wootsie, the eldest of the mice children, would caution the two youngest, RyRy and Heder, to be careful not to get hurt, or to eat too much, or not to leave a mess in the pantry. She was the cautious one, always organized and planning her next trip to the pantry. She knew that one day, just as surely as the sun rises each morning, that one of them would get caught. Why, she would bet her toenail clipping collection on it.
That evening, as the human parents were at a volleyball game watching their girls win, the Mama and Papa mouse watched from the shelf of DVD's on one wall of the pantry as their children began their night activities. Wootsie carefully gathered some scraps of yarn, leftover from a school project, to knit a scarf. Fur would only goes so far when the cold winds began. She knew the winds and snow would come, they always did.
Luigi hummed a song he'd heard the human young man playing on his keyboard. It had been a mournful tune and now Luigi was feeling sad and a little grumpy. He liked it better when the music coming from the piano was lilting and happy, Celtic in nature. That made him happy, unlike the screamo music which made him aggressive and macho mousie. Yes, he decided, the music does affect his emotions.
Amos just sat, looking at the peas. She was tempted to try them. Her parents ate them after all and look how nice and healthy they both were. Were they just bad for the children? Peas, they were just peas. Right?
Heder looked nervously at the mouse trap as she went the long way around to the bag of popcorn. The trap made her think of hunting season and she wondered if there was a season for (gulp) mice. To take her mind off of the nasty thought, she tried a pirouettte and a plie, binding first her front legs then her back, then all four together.
RyRy scampered up a tower of canned pineapple, mandarin oranges and tropical fruit. A smoothie, a nice fruit smoothie is what he was hungry for. Why was Amos even wasting her time pondering peas? And what on earth was Heder doing? Mama told her to use the restroom before coming out into the open of the pantry.
Papa and Mama continued to watch their children, all so different in their approaches to life. They knew Wootsie sometimes struggled with trusting God to be there for her, taking care of her needs and sometimes even just her wants and wishes, but just as sure as the sun rises each day, He was just as faithful. Just look at the yarn that was provided for her new scarf. Those scraps weren't there yesterday, and now, just when she needed them, there they were. And Luigi, sweet Luigi and his love for music and theology. Just today he was discussing the differences between traditionalism and modernism. Papa and Mama smiled and nodded at each other; neither really knew what he was talking about, but they sure were proud. Amos just might be the first to be brave enough to try the peas. Cautious and yet curious enough to step out in faith after checking with God and sometimes, her parents. Heder, such a joy to watch! Even when fearful, she had faith and often expressed herself with dance, her own form of praise to the God she loved. Last, but not least, was Little RyRy, also curious but with a zest for life and a million questions.
Mama smiled and twitched her whiskers. She was blessed.
The End :)
Love,
Dianne
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