Anecdote from the Archive

I came across this story from a number of years ago. It's remarkable that Calico was playing with worms at all, but this was very typical of Gingham:

It started yesterday when I entered the family room and found the coffee table covered with dirt along with a number of squiggly earthworms. I don't mind the girls playing with dirt and worms, but NOT indoors and NOT on the coffee table, so the next job they had to do was cart the worms back outside and clean up the dirt. Gingham then had me come out to meet the worms.

"This one's named Peter because he has a hot temper (she loves the apostle Peter -- I guess that worm was the wiggliest) and the rest are all named Rose."

Later Calico came back in with a plastic jar filled with dirt and worms. She explained that they were shivering and needed to come in to get warm. I guess they survived the night because a few minutes ago she in to tell me that they were using the house they'd made for their paper dolls for the worm family instead, and they wanted me to come out to see it. So I went.

The house is a lovely cardboard A-frame on which Gingham had written "the has uv Worms" (the House of Worms). On the sidewalk she'd written their names: Pedder, **** (Calico's namesake), **** (Gingham's namesake), Ciddy (my namesake), Floppy, and Mary Poppins (a readaloud she found hysterical). Anyway, I'm very thankful they now have their own home. They no longer need to share ours.