Camille had the spring break blues… Her mom had enrolled the two of them in a knitting workshop. Camille was both embarrassed and angry. For one thing, how could her mom enroll her without asking her first? And on top of that, Camille was pretty sure that there wouldn’t be any girls her age in the class.
“It isn’t fair, Mom! Everyone else in the neighborhood is taking dance or voice lessons, not ‘Wendy’s Wonderful Workshop for Knitting.’ I’m not going to have any fun this spring break,”
Camille sighed while poking at her cereal.
“Oh, come on! Everyone isn’t taking dance or singing,” her mom protested.
“Katie is!” Camille retorted, glancing at her sister, Katie, who had a smirk plastered on her face.
Camille’s mom rolled her eyes as she picked up her purse. Grimacing, Camille slid into her sandals and tied back her lustrous curls.
“Ugh, I might as well get this over with.” She put her bowl in the sink and trailed out of the house after her mom and sister.
“Now, Camille, which color tutu should I wear, pink or purple?” Katie pondered, “I think pink goes better with my eyes.”
“Can you stop bothering me with your trivial problems? Ugh! I should be the one picking out a tutu!” Camille grouched.
“You’re no help! Anyways, my ride’s here. See you later!” Katie hopped into her friend’s car and they sped off to the studio. Camille got in the car with her mom and they headed to the recreation center where the workshop was taking place.
Camille waited in the brightly painted knitting room with her mom.
“Oh my gosh! I forgot about the community service I was assigned! How am I ever going to do it when I’m so busy knitting?” Camille wondered aloud.
“I’ve only got one thing to say, ‘When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.’” advised her mom.
Camille’s eyebrows knitted together in frustration. Why was her mom being so cryptic?
She picked up her knitting needles and watched their mentor Wendy attentively. By the end of the day, Camille was knitting like she had never knitted before! She had even recognized a girl from her school participating in the workshop. Camille couldn’t wait until the next day of class, but she still had the issue of her community service needs on her mind.
Admiring the blankets, articles of clothing, and dolls she had knitted, Camille smiled to herself.
Her smile quickly faded and became a frown as she wondered what to do with all of her creations.
“I’ve got it!” Camille exclaimed, causing her mom to drop her blueberry muffin in surprise. “I’ll donate all of this stuff to a homeless shelter and then volunteer there this weekend! That
way somebody in need can use all of this! That should count as community service, right, Mom?”
Her mom grinned and nodded enthusiastically. “Now, you’re making lemonade!”
Later that afternoon, Camille sat out on the porch with her sister, Katie.
“So, how was dance today?” Camille asked absently.
“It was okay, but the instructor’s a real grouch,” Katie mumbled. “How was the knitting workshop?”
“Oh, it was great. Very inspirational,” Camille said.
Then she took a sip of her ice-cold lemonade.
Kaylen Jameela Sanders, 11, of Pembroke Pines, is a seventh-grade student at Walter C. Young Middle School in Pembroke Pines.
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