Silly Mom Thoughts

Let me take you back to a particularly hilarious April Fools Day in 1996. My family and my best friend’s family were staying at a cabin on the beach for several days, having a wonderful time, joking around, having way more freedom than we normally had. On April Fools, my friend Kristen, her brother Alex, and I decided to try to play pranks on our parents throughout the entire day.

We tied a rubber band to the spray nozzle on the faucet so that it sprayed at the next person to turn it on.

They didn’t fall for it.

I remember we talked of messing with a batch of brownies, but I don’t think we went through with it.

We made different outrageous comments, trying to pull them off as truths so we could yell, “April Fools!”

But our zeal was deflated when they would say, “April Fools!” before we could.

We waited for our parents to retaliate. They promised that it would be good. The entire day passed and they made no attempt at a joke, a prank, or anything remotely April Fools-y.

It was a weeknight and the sun had set. Alex, Kristen and I asked if we could take a walk along the beach. They said, “Sure, go ahead.” (I waited for the “April Fools!” at this point, but nope, they were really cool with the idea.)

We walked, we laughed and joked around, a little too loud for the hour. Several houses down from our cabin, a man stepped out onto his porch and yelled, “Hey, you kids! You have no respect for others, yelling at this hour! Did it ever cross your mind that some people might have to work in the morning?”

No, actually it didn’t. Woops!

We brushed it off with a laugh, but I felt awful. I honestly didn’t think about how our voices would carry so close to the water and the fact that not everyone else was on Spring Break.

When we arrived back at the cabin, we told our parents what happened. They listened patiently and didn’t yell at us for being inconsiderate.

Surely, that was the April Fools, right? I mean, we should have gotten into a little trouble for being so loud? ran through my head.

The suspense of waiting for their April Fools prank was driving me insane.

About thirty minutes later, the phone rang. My dad was in the kitchen, grabbing something out of the fridge, and my mom was next to the phone.

“Hello?”

She listened.

“Yes, we have three teenagers right here that were just walking on the beach.”

Silence. Kristen, Alex, and I stared at eachother in horror.

“Um, Alex is 16 and Kristen and Lindsay are 13. I don’t think they meant any harm, officer-”

Officer? Oh crap we’re in trouble.

I think at this point I may have pooped my pants. Just a little. (K, not really.)

“No, no need to press charges, we’ll make sure they’re disciplined for their actions. Sorry for the disruption.”

She hung up the phone and stared intently at us.

“That was the police,” she said, but I don’t think she got much further than that before she, my dad, and Kristen and Alex’s mom burst into laughter.

My dad came back in from the kitchen, old school flip cell-phone in his hands and near-tears laughter in his eyes. He had been hiding behind the refigerator door the entire time after dialing the cabin’s phone number.

“April Fools!” they yelled.

I think we laughed, but we were so stunned, I believe it took a second for it to sink in that we weren’t in trouble with the police. If I remember correctly it was Alex who said, “Wow, you guys got us good.”

Damn, they totally did.

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