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Gitty Learns to Wait Her Turn

Ages 6-9 | Story and 9 activities

At recess, there is one swing that everybody wants: the blue one.

The blue swing is the highest. It creaks in a happy way, and when you lean back, you can almost touch the clouds. The other swings are fine, but the blue one is the best.

Gitty races out the door the second the bell rings. She is fast. She reaches the swings first and grabs the blue one.

"My turn!" she calls, pumping her legs.

She swings up, up, up. The wind rushes through her hair. It feels wonderful.

Behind her, a line begins to form. Rachel is there. So is Devorah. And Miri, who is new and stands a little apart, twisting her sleeve.

"Gitty, can I go?" asks Rachel.

"In a minute."

Gitty keeps swinging. A minute passes. Then another. Rachel sighs. Devorah looks at her shoes. Miri shifts from one foot to the other.

Gitty sees them out of the corner of her eye. A small voice inside her says, You've had a long turn. But another voice says, It's so good, and I don't want to stop.

She swings one more time. Then another. Her stomach feels tight. She's been counting in her head, and it is already thirty swings.

Finally, she drags her feet and slows down. She hops off. "Okay, it's yours."

Rachel takes the swing. "Thanks, Gitty. That was a really long time."

Gitty's cheeks go warm. She walks to the fence and stands there. She doesn't feel happy anymore. The fun fades when she sees the faces in the line.

Morah Sara comes over. "Everything okay?"

"I took too long," says Gitty quietly. "Rachel and Devorah and Miri were waiting."

"I noticed," says Morah gently. "What could you do next time?"

Gitty thinks. "Count to twenty. Then give it to the next person."

"That's a good plan."

The next day, Gitty goes to the swings again. She grabs the blue one first. This time, she decides in her head: Twenty swings. She counts out loud, one, two, three, up and back. When she gets to twenty, her heart says, Just a few more! But she hops off.

"Your turn, Miri," she says.

Miri's eyes light up. "Really? Thank you."

Gitty stands at the end of the line. It feels strange. Waiting makes her fidgety. She counts the clouds. She hums a tune. She notices Miri's face as she swings, big and glowing.

Soon it is Gitty's turn again. The blue swing is still creaky and tall, and it is just as wonderful.

"Hey," says Rachel, standing behind her. "Thanks for sharing."

"No problem," says Gitty. "Do you want to count with me?"

They count together, all the way to twenty, and then Rachel takes over.

On Thursday, Morah Sara notices the line at the swings. She doesn't say a word. She only smiles and gives Gitty a small thumbs-up from across the yard. Gitty feels it all the way in her toes.

By the end of the week, the whole class uses the same counting system, and the line is happy. Even Miri, who used to stand apart, joins in the counting.