how to become un-bored

名称：how to become un-bored
内容简介：
Dear Arizona,
　 It seems like everyone but me is on vacation or at camp. I’m so bored. Please help!
　 — Bored in Boston

Dear Bored,
　　Believe me, I know exactly how you feel. Just last weekend, I was sitting around with nothing to do.

“I’m bored!” I whined.

“Nonsense,” said my dad. “The only people who get bored are boring people.”

“Hey,” I said, “are you calling your own daughter boring?”

“If the shoe fits!”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means,” my dad said, “that the only reason you’re bored is because you’re too lazy to get un-bored. There are hundreds of interesting things to do with your spare time, and I’m certain that, with a little thought and effort, a person of your intelligence, creativity, and resourcefulness can come up with at least one of them.”

“But, Dad—,” I started.

“I’ll be done with my paperwork in a few hours,” he interrupted. “You figure out a cure for your boredom between now and then, and I’ll take you somewhere fun for lunch.”

“Really?” I said.

“Really,” he answered. “But this is a challenge. I’ll need proof that you’ve done something more with your time than just spacing out in front of the TV. Do we have a deal?”

“Deal!” I said confidently. But as soon as my dad walked away, my confidence walked away, too. My dad had made it sound easy, but now there was so much pressure to come up with an interesting activity.

What I needed was to have a talk with the “guy” who has all the answers. But when I looked around, I couldn’t find him. He wasn’t in the kitchen or in the living room or even on top of the dirty-laundry pile.

Eventually, I gave up searching. I f lopped on my bed—then heard a very loud yelp.

“There you are, you silly old cat!” I exclaimed. “I could have completely smooshed you. I was looking for you in order to get some advice—not a heart attack.”

Cow hopped onto the f loor, walked over to my closet, meowed two and a half times, then gave me a hopeful look.

It’s taken me many years to learn to speak “Cow,” but by now I almost always know what he means. This time, the translation was Maybe if I had a cozy bed of my own in this closet, I wouldn’t have to worry about getting smooshed!

“Good idea!” I answered. “Hold on. I’ll be right back.”

I went to get a laundry basket, a pillow, and a couple of towels. When I returned, Cow rubbed his nose up against the basket, sat on the towels, and purred, which meant Brilliant! Exactly what I had in mind.

Making Cow’s new bed was easy. Clearing a spot for it in my closet was not.

If you ever decide to go through the pile of stuff on your closet floor, you might find some fairly fascinating things! Here are a few examples of what I found: my friend Mareya Becker’s sweatshirt; an especially suspenseful book that I lost just when I got to the most exciting part; an empty juice box; and my favorite unicorn necklace that my grandparents gave me when I was nine.

“Perfect timing,” I said when my dad knocked on my door. “Want to see Cow’s new bed?”

“Fantastic!” he said. “And your closet is so clean.”

The truth is that I’d been so focused on making a nice sleeping spot for my cat that I hadn’t even noticed I was cleaning at the same time.

Anyway, Cow loved his new bed. And my dad took me to this amazing restaurant where you can create your own dream burger by picking from a checklist of every ingredient imaginable–which was unbelievably fun and delicious!

So, dear Bored, it turns out that it’s not impossible to get un-bored after all. Although you may not have a cat in need of a bed, there are probably zillions of things waiting to be done in your room, your house, your yard, and even your town. And, to quote my dad, I’m sure that, “with a little thought and effort, a person of your intelligence, creativity, and resourcefulness can come up with at least one of them!”