It was still dark when I got up this morning but the blanket of white snow that covered grassy areas was noticeable as I glanced out the window. As I poured my coffee I noticed the calendar needed to be changed. Today we begin a new month – April 1st – April Fools’ Day. I was flooded with memories of years past.
I’m really not much of a prankster but when my kids were growing up there was one April Fool’s Day joke that I repeated on several occasions. I drove the girls to school everyday and they were always expected to be ready on time. On days when travel time might take longer I would wake them early to alert them of what time we would be leaving. To prank the girls on April 1st I would rush into their bedroom before they were up and wake them by telling them that we would need to leave early because it was snowing like crazy or we had gotten significant amount of snow over night and I expected that it would take longer than normal to get them to school. They would jump out of bed and as they looked out the window I would spring it on them “April Fools!” I would laugh and they would likely start plotting their revenge or planning how they would prank others throughout the day.
I don’t think any of the girls fell for this more than twice. Any further attempts were met with things like “nice try Mom”, as they pulled up the covers for another 10 minutes in bed. I still laughed at their reactions – until the year that the weather played the ultimate April Fools’ Day joke. The snow that had begun in the early morning was still coming down as I started my day. We would have to leave early to get them to school on time. When I announced this to the girls I was met with what had become the normal resistance “Yah, right, Mom.” They were having none of it and I couldn’t blame them. I was the proverbial boy who cried wolf. Lesson learned!
Are you a prankster? Have you ever played a good April Fools’ Day joke on someone? or had one played on you. I’d love to hear your stories.