The year was 1972 or '73. Our mom worked part-time and would usually get home around 5:15 PM. Dad usually didn't come home until right before dinner at 6:00 PM. With this in mind my siblings and I decided to completely booby-trap the house before they got home. We all raced home from school in order to execute our plan. Nothing we did was malicious or harmful, everything was relatively simple and easy to undo.
When Mom got home, she saw a note on the front door "Use the back door, please." She dutifully walked to the back on the house to enter by the sliding glass door. We greeted her by yelling, "April Fools." She laughed at herself that she was so easily fooled. She moved to the hallway closet to hang up her coat. As she opened the door, all the hats on the top shelf slid off on top of her. My brother had brilliantly booby-trapped it with a long string and some paper. The result was a mess of hats and scarfs on Mom and the floor. Once again Mom laughed as we hollered "April Fools!"
After changing out of her work clothes, Mom entered the kitchen to prepare dinner. First stop was the sink to wash her hands. But as she turned on the water she got sprayed in the face because we had taped the spray nozzle open with black electrical tape. Unbelievably Mom didn't get angry as she toweled off and we once again yelled "April Fools". As she started dinner preparations it was discovered that we had switched the silverware drawer with the junk drawer. How many times she was fooled by this prank I don't know, but she didn't immediately switch them back so it was an on-going prank, as was the spray nozzle on the sink. I'm sure she got wet at least three times before pulling off the tape. Heck, we probably pranked ourselves, too, since the kids had to set the table for dinner at our house.
Dad was home by now and you guessed it. He came in the back door. Dinner was unremarkable, at least as far as I remember, unless someone tried to salt their meat. We had switched the salt for sugar in the shaker and sugar for salt in the sugar bowl. I don't recall anyone confusing those that day, but no one switched them back that night, so the prank probably went on for days with sweet meat and salty breakfast cereal as the result.
That night we all watched TV together in the living room. A little after nine, Mom left to get ready for bed. As she left the room she gave us a general goodnight message saying she was so glad that April Fools' Day was over. A few minutes later we heard laughter from her bedroom.
We had short-sheeted her bed.
Happy April Fools' Day!
That's a great set of memories of April Fool's day! I don't have any real memories of this day except that almost don't believe much of what I'm told, convinced it's all a joke.
ReplyDeleteYour mom was/is a very good sport!
ReplyDeleteShe sure was. She still is able to laugh at herself.
DeleteFrom my sister, Grace Ruddy: I just read this aloud to Rock. We both laughed hard!ð Good memories!
ReplyDeleteFrom my sister, Kathy Kingsbury: Ha! I only remembered the water spray and the salt and pepper! Good memories! Can you figure out how to get this to Tony? And Mom? ððĪŠð
ReplyDeleteFrom my mom, Shirley Kingsbury: I remember getting wet and the trouble getting into bed. Thanks for the memories, Anne. You kids of ours were funny and wonderful then and are now in 2019. Thank you and the wonderful friends who have loved and cared for me since your Dad died just four months ago. I've got my Norwegian earrings on and my red Health Care for All Oregon shirt on today. I'll be taking two friends with me to the monthly meeting at my church tonight. Let's all work at sharing love and compassion for everyone.
ReplyDeleteFrom a lifelong friend, Anne Marie: Your mom was a good sport. Such antics from the Kingsbury sibs!
ReplyDelete