Simple Stories in English: The Busy Mom

Season 1, episode 10

When things get lost, the logical solution is to look for them. Sometimes we are so busy looking that we don’t see what is right under our noses. Lourdes is busy. She tries to make time for her son’s problems, but sometimes her own problems get in the way, such as when she needs some ginger for her cake.

This story is told in the present tense and has multiple repetitions of “Did you look?” and “I looked” as well as places around the house

THE BUSY MOM

There is a woman. Her name is Lourdes. Lourdes is a nice and patient woman. She is also a hard working woman. Lourdes works a lot. She works at home. She has a cooking blog. She prepares food recipes, cooks the food, takes photos of the food, and write articles about the whole process for her blog. Lourdes works practically all the time in her home. She is always busy.

Lourdes lives with her husband and her son. Lourdes’s husband is named Bill. Bill works too, but Bill does not work from home. He works in a chocolate factory. Bill works in the factory from nine (9) in the morning until five (5) in the afternoon.

Lourdes and Bill’s son is named Kevin. Kevin is fourteen (14) years old. Kevin does not have a job. Kevin likes to play video games.

One day Lourdes is working. She is working on a new recipe for gingerbread cake. Lourdes is in the living room. She is busy. She is reading an old book of recipes when Keven enters. Lourdes is busy, but she takes a moment to talk to her son.

“Mom, I have a problem,” Kevin says.

“What’s wrong?” Lourdes asks.

“I can’t find my new video game. I looked through the whole house. I don’t know where it is,” Kevin says.

“Did you look in your bedroom?” Lourdes asks.

“Yes, I looked in my bedroom. It’s not there,” Keven responds.

“Did you look in your backpack?” Lourdes asks.

“Yes, I looked in my backpack. It’s not there,” Keven replies.

“Did you look in the car?” Lourdes asks.

“No, no I did not look in the car,” Kevin replies.

“Well, maybe it’s in the car. Look in the car,” Lourdes tells her son. So Kevin goes to the car to look for his new video game and Lourdes continues reading the book of recipes. After a while, Lourdes moves from the living room to the kitchen to make the gingerbread cake. 

Lourdes is in the kitchen. She is busy. She is preparing the ingredients for the gingerbread cake when Kevin enters with another problem. Lourdes is busy, but she takes a moment to talk to her son.

“Mom, I have a problem,” Kevin says.

“What’s wrong?” Lourdes asks.

“The car is locked and I can’t find the keys. I looked all over the whole house. I don’t know where they are,” Kevin replies.

“Did you look in the entryway?” Lourdes asks.

“Yes, I looked in the entryway. They’re not there,” Keven replies.

“Did you look in the living room?” Lourdes asks.

“Yes, I looked in the living room,” Keven replies.

“Did you look in the kitchen?” Lourdes asks.

“No, no I did not look in the kitchen,” Kevin responds.

“Well, maybe they are in the kitchen. Look in the kitchen,” Lourdes told her son. Kevin looks a little and finds the keys.

Kevin leaves the kitchen and looks for his video game in the car. Lourdes has a lot of work. She is busy. She continues to prepare the ingredients for the gingerbread cake. She has eggs, butter, sugar, and flour. But there is a problem. She doesn’t have ginger! Lourdes looks all over the kitchen, but she doesn’t know where the ginger is. It is not possible to make a gingerbread cake without ginger!

“Mom, I have a problem,” Kevin says.

Usually when Lourdes is busy she makes time for her son. But in this moment, Lourdes doesn’t have time.

“I’m busy, dear. I don’t have time for another problem right now,” Lourdes responds.

“What’s wrong?” Kevin asks.

“I can’t find the ginger. I don’t know where it is,” Lourdes responds.

“Did you look in the cupboard?” Kevin asks.

“Yes, I looked in the cupboard,” Lourdes responds.

“Did you look in the pantry?” Kevin asks.

“Yes, I looked in the pantry,” Lourdes replies.

“Did you look in the fridge?” Kevin asks.

“No,” Lourdes says, “who puts ginger in the fridge? I think we don’t have any more ginger. I think I need to go to the store to buy more ginger.”

Lourdes needs to go to the store so she grabs her purse and grabs her wallet. The store is a bit far, so Lourdes needs to drive there. To go to the store, Lourdes needs the car keys.

“Mom, I have a problem,” Kevin repeats.

“I’m busy, dear,” Lourdes says. “I don’t have time now. I am looking for the car keys. I don’t know where they are.”

“Yes, well, mom…,” Kevin says.

“Just a minute. I am going to look for them in my bedroom,” Lourdes interrupts. She goes to her bedroom and looks for the keys, but they are not there.

“Well, mom,” Kevin says.

“Just a minute. I am going to look for them in the sofa,” Lourdes interrupts. She looks for the keys in the sofa, but they are not there.

“Mom!” Kevin yells.

“Just a minute,” Lourdes responds. “I am busy. I am looking for the keys. I don’t know where they are.”

“But I know where the keys are!” Kevin yells at his mom.

Lourdes stops and looks at Kevin. “You know where the keys are?,” Lourdes asks.

“Yes,” Kevin responds. “They are in the car.”

“Ah, perfect. Let’s go to the supermarket for the ginger,” Lourdes responds.

“But mom, there is a problem,” Kevin explains. “The keys are in the car, but the car is locked.”

“Oh,” Lourdes says and she thinks for a moment. “Ah! It’s okay, son. I have extra keys in my purse here,” Lourdes says. She opens her purse and grabs the extra keys. “Now let’s go. I am very busy today.”

The end.

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Author: Camilla Given

I'm Camilla! I teach at the high school and college level in a small town in western Colorado. My goal is to teach the world Spanish through stories. I truly believe that stories make learning Spanish easier - and even fun! Feel free to contact me at smalltownspanishteacher@gmail.com

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