Here's another addition to my Holiday story series! This one is a bit different, told in Annie's POV without any live interactions with other characters. As usual with these stories, I wrote it during my free time throughout the holiday. Enjoy, and Happy Thanksgiving!
I'm thankful for finding a family. I'm thankful for Miss Farrell getting me out of the orphanage for once and for all, and for Mr. Warbucks letting me stay even though he wanted a boy. I did my very hardest to make him like me, and it worked! Now Mr. Warbucks and Miss Farrell are Mommy and Daddy Warbucks.
I'm thankful that they love me and take care of me, even when I mess up or do something I'm not supposed'ta. I'm thankful for the time they spend with me even though they're busy with work a lot of times. No matter what's going on, they always take time after dinner to play with me or help me with my homework. Sometimes if I finish early, they'll take me to a movie or even a Broadway show!
I'm thankful that I have a warm home. I'm thankful for full meals, new dresses, and for those movies and shows I get to see. I know lots of people won't be eating turkey this Thanksgiving, if anything at all. I wish that those people will find a warm place to sleep tonight, and at least be able to eat a slice of pie.
I'm thankful for Sandy. I'm thankful for him always protecting me. He's by my side whenever he can be. He'd come to school if he could! Whenever someone new comes along, he checks them out and makes sure they won't hurt me. He's always there for me no matter what. Whenever I feel sad, Sandy's the first to try and cheer me up. He is always there to play with me when no one else is around. He's the greatest friend a kid could ask for.
I'm thankful for my teachers and tutors. I'm thankful for all their help so I can be in the same class as other kids my age. I only knew how to read and write back at the orphanage. I knew some arithmetic, too, but not a whole lot. My tutors helped me until I started school after summer, then my teachers took over. School gets tricky sometimes, but I love going. I made new friends too!
I'm thankful for my friends, both from school and from the orphanage. I'm thankful that my orphan friends all found parents of their own. I would'a felt bad if they were still back at the orphanage. Even though Miss Hannigan isn't there anymore, I don't think they'd be having big feasts like they will be with their new families.
I'm thankful for Punjab and The Asp. I'm thankful for them keeping me, Mommy, and Daddy Warbucks safe. Actually, they keep the whole house safe. They're also my friends. The Asp teaches me karate and drives me everywhere I want to go. He doesn't even complain when I want to see my friends on the other end of town! Punjab always shows me magic tricks. He could levitate anything if he tried! Both him and The Asp are so much fun.
I'm thankful for all my Daddy's staff. I'm thankful for them letting me help them with their chores and making them into a game. The maids let me help them clean the rooms if I want. Sometimes when they make the beds, I'll hide in the piles of blankets and surprise them. I'm allowed to help scrub the floors as well. It's not the same as it was back in the orphanage. I don't have to get down on my hands and knees and use a splintery brush – they tie sponges to my feet and I get to skate around the floor and watch it get all bubbly and sudsy. If I wake up extra early, Mrs. Pugh lets me help with breakfast. She says that I make eggs almost as good as she does now! She even let me help her with Thanksgiving dinner. Drake will let me bring trays up to Daddy when he's working. I like when I can because that means I get to watch him and Mommy work for a little while – most of the time they let me stay. The gardener is teaching me all about different flowers, plants, and trees. Over the summer, he made a section of the garden just for me. He said I could plant any kind of flowers I wanted. I chose daisies. Next year I think I wanna try growing vegetables. It looks like fun! I don't like calling the maids, the butlers, the cleaners, the gardener, Drake, or Mrs. Pugh the staff. They're part of the family if you ask me. Most of them live there, and I don't know what a day would be like without them.
I'm thankful for Miss Hannigan. Yes, I really am thankful for Miss Hannigan. If she hadn't locked me in the closet the day Mom came to invite an orphan to Daddy's house for a week, I never would'a got here. I wish she had come sooner, but maybe she wouldn't've wanted a really little kid. The smallest kids aren't allowed out unless they're adopted. I think even now I might be too little, so I'm thankful that Grace won the tug of war and threatened Miss Hannigan's job!
I'm thankful for Mommy. I'm thankful for how nice she's been to me right from the start. She tucks me in every night no matter what. Daddy usually does, too, but sometimes he's stuck on the phone or in a meeting. On those nights, Mom will read with me and tell me stories from when she was a kid. Sometimes I tell her stories, too. When I do, she a lot of times looks sad to hear about the orphanage. I say to her I won't tell any more, but she always says that if I want to tell them, she wants to listen. She never gets too mad at Sandy, even when he leaves soap and water all over the house because he was running away from Drake and the bathtub. Mommy likes to make me laugh. Sometimes she'll tell a joke, or sometimes she'll tickle me, or sometimes she'll help me play a small prank on Daddy Warbucks! The pranks are never big though, because she doesn't want to see Daddy get hurt. When we go out to the theater, she and me always do our hair together – like we did the first time we went to the movies. Sometimes she lets me use some of her makeup – only a little though, because she said I'm still too little to wear a lot. I love her so much, she's my friend and my mom.
I'm thankful for Daddy Warbucks. I'm thankful for all the great places he takes me and for all that he's taught me. He lets me come whenever he goes to Washington D.C. as long as I don't have school. He also likes making me laugh, and sometimes he does without even trying – like the time he wore a different kind of tie – one of those long ones. Mrs. Pugh made stew that night, and tie kept dipping in his bowl. He was mad, but Mommy and I couldn't help laughing. He left the table and said that this was why he always wears bowties. I guess Mom had tried talking him into a change. He wasn't kidding though, I haven't seen him wear one since. Daddy Warbucks is one of the smartest people in the world. Next to President Roosevelt, of course (I'm also thankful for him!). He teaches me a lot of stuff that I don't read in my schoolbooks. He tells me about different parts of the world he's seen, and he promises me to take me to where he grew up in England someday, as well as the rest of Europe. What I love most about Daddy is that even when he's his absolute grumpiest, he's always happy when he says goodnight to me.
I'm thankful for my real parents. I'm thankful that they chose the Hudson Street Home for Girls, and not some other place if they had to send me away. If I hadn't gone there, I never would've met Molly, Duffy, July, Tessie, Kate, or Pepper. They're like my sisters more than friends. Also, Mom was sent to this orphanage, so she might not have found me unless she was sent to wherever else I might have gone. Even though my parents didn't get to come back, I know they helped find new parents who'd take good care of me. I love my real parents, and I always will, but I'm thankful that I was able to find a new home with a mom and dad who love me just as much as real parents would… maybe even more.
I'm thankful for the Turkey and stuffing and potatoes and all the delicious food Mrs. Pugh made for us, and I'm thankful that it's almost time for dinner!
The End.