last-minute and mismatched

名称：last-minute and mismatched
内容简介：
Dear Arizona,
　 My parents get upset because I'm always late and running out of time to do what I'm supposed to do. How can I get my life under control?
　 — Yikes in Yakima




Dear Yikes,
　 I have to say, when it comes to letter writing, your timing is amazing! Just a few weeks ago, I had an experience that was a great (or should I say terrible?) example of how poor my own planning-ahead skills can be.

“Arizona!” my mom cried, bursting into my room and turning off the clock that was beeping on my dresser. “Why are you still in bed?”

“I didn’t hear the alarm!” I said, jumping up in a panic. I frantically rummaged through my drawers for clothes. “Mom, I’m so tired! I stayed up late reading a book that we’re being tested on this morning.”

“Well, that’s what happens when you put things off until the last minute,” Mom said, sighing. “I’ll pack a breakfast that you can eat on the way.”

I ended up arriving late to school. The test was already partly over, so I had to finish it while everyone else was working on our class art project. And because I’d been so tired while I was reading the night before,

I couldn’t remember a lot from the book.

As if things weren’t bad enough, the Fashion Police teased me at lunchtime. The Fashion Police consists of one mean girl and anyone else she can convince to go around with her, making fun of other kids’ clothes.


“Nice socks, Arizona,” said the leader. “A thick blueone and a thin green one? If I’d known it was Unattractive Day, I would have worn something ugly, too!”



I wanted to say “Seriously, do you have nothing better to do than make fun of people’s socks? I mean—socks!” But instead I said, “Haven’t you heard? Mismatched socks are the latest style!”

The Fashion Police just rolled their eyes.

When I finally walked into my house that afternoon, my mom said, “Arizona, I was putting laundry in your room and found the permission slip for your class trip. It was due today. Why didn’t you give it to me earlier? Also, would you please vacuum the living room? I’ve already asked you twice, and I don’t want to ask again!”

That’s when I collapsed onto the couch. “I can’t do anything right.”

“Come on, sweetie,” my mom said. “It’s not that bad, is it?”

“It really is! I couldn’t do the class art project because I had to finish the test, which I probably did badly on because I was so tired, and I was in such a hurry that I wore mismatched socks, and the Fashion Police teased me about it, and now I might not be able to go on the class trip to the aquarium, even though I really want to see the sharks!”

“Wow!” said my mom. “I guess it really is that bad.”

And then we both said the exact same sentence at the exact same time: “Maybe we should get out the planner.”

It wasn’t the first time the planning issue had come up. I always feel calmer once I take the time to write down all my school stuff, after-school stuff, and home stuff. But sometimes I forget to use my planner, and that’s when I get in trouble.

This time, Mom and I decided that we’d have a weekly planning party. So now every Sunday night, we make yummy snacks, then sit down together and use colorful markers and stickers to fill in my planner for the week. If I need to prepare for something ahead of time, I mark the day I need to start thinking about it. (For example, I write “Pack karate clothes” on Tuesday because I have karate after school on Wednesday.)

I also go to bed earlier and set my alarm-clock radio to a station that plays peppy music, so I wake up every morning feeling energized.

Anyway, dear Yikes, I’ve learned that staying on track is something you have to keep working at. But by looking for creative solutions to old problems, you may figure out new ways to improve—and how to have some fun in the process.

By the way, my mom called the school, and I was able to go on that field trip—which was lucky, because those sharks were even more awesome than I’d imagined!

Also, I decided to put a Mismatched Socks Day on my planner every now and then, just for the fun of it!

Ciao for now,

Arizona