Just Grace and the Terrible Tutu (3 page)

 

I like Crinkles, but lately I have been trying to be more careful about not touching him, so I sat in a chair instead of on the sofa. Mimi is so allergic to cats that even if I just pet Crinkles once, her nose will know about it and start sneezing as soon as I stand near her. Some friends are more important than cats.

WHAT AUGUSTINE DUPRE TOLD ME

Augustine Dupre is so smart. Without me even saying a word about it she knew exactly why I was visiting. She said, "I bet you want to hear about Mrs. Luther's house and my friends." She said her friends' names were Yvonne and Francois, and that they had a daughter name Lily. "I am sure you will like Lily," said Augustine Dupre. "She is very energetic. And she will absolutely love you. How could she not?"

Augustine Dupre gave my hand a little squeeze and then she told me something that was a complete surprise. "I was thinking you might like to help Yvonne by being a mother's helper. I have told her about you and she is interested. Would you like a little job?"

It was a MOM, WOW-OMG moment, but with Augustine Dupre I try to be more fancy, so I said, "Oh my gosh, that sounds great!" Being a mother's helper was not something I had ever been before, but you don't always have to be a doer to be a knower. And I was pretty much already knowing all about it.

WHAT YOU MIGHT THINK A MOTHER'S HELPER IS

If you had never heard about being a mother's helper before you would probably think it was a job where you help a mom do boring mom chores. Things like

washing clothes

cleaning the floor

 

putting things in cupboards

 

folding laundry

 

 

If you thought these things, then you would be wrong. This is not being a mother's helper. This is being a mom!

A mother's helper is a lot more fun, and that is because mother's helper is a person putting things in cupboards who plays with the kids and keeps them having fun. The mom likes this because then she doesn't have to listen to them, and she can do all her mom stuff without getting interrupted. Mother's helpers do things like play fun games with kids,

eat snacks with kids,

 

show kids how to make forts in the living room,

 

and keep kids away from the stove.

 

 

THE NUMBER ONE SURPRISING THING ABOUT BEING A MOTHER'S HELPER

You get paid real money to do it!

BEING A MOTHER'S HELPER IS EASY BECAUSE...

The mom is right there in the house in case the kids are naughty, get hurt, or forget to go to the bathroom. It's the perfect nothing-can-go-wrong job.

 

WHAT HAPPENED NEXT THAT WAS UNUSUAL

If I am visiting with Augustine Dupre and Mom wants me to come back upstairs, she usually yells down the stairs, but this time she came to the door instead. We had to shoo Crinkles out of the apartment really fast. He was not happy.

 

Augustine Dupre and Mom talked about the new French neighbors, and Mom said she was looking forward to meeting Augustine Dupre's friends. I couldn't help myself—even though it wasn't polite, I had interrupt and tell Mom the exciting news. "Guess what, Mom? I'm going to have a job! I get to be a mother's helper." At first Mom seemed surprised, but then she asked a very good question. "Have you thought about asking Mimi to help you?" She was right. It was a great idea. The job would be a lot more fun if Mimi was going to do it too.

I gave Augustine Dupre a super-big hug when we left. I could hardly wait to meet the new people. They were going to be French, fancy, and fabulous!