“Juliana, are you ready to go to the bakery?” Asks her dad from the living room.

“Yes!” Juliana replied excitedly.

Juliana and her dad had been working hard cleaning up the house, and her dad wanted to surprise her with a tasty treat from the bakery.

Juliana does not eat many sweets but enjoys strawberry shortcake cookies, especially from Sunrise Bakery.

“Ready, Juliana? Remember to bring Lola with you.” Says her dad.

Juliana grabs her teddy bear, Lola, and they head out the door together.

“Good morning, Mark and Juliana, Welcome to Sunrise Bakery!” says Ms. Maggie behind the counter.

Juliana and her dad greet Ms. Maggie with a cheerful “Good morning!”

“How can I help you today?” asks Ms. Maggie.

“Cookies!” replies Juliana without hesitation.

“Yes, we are here for your famous delicious strawberry shortcake cookies,” says Juliana’s dad with a big smile.

“Oh, my, yes. Everyone loves those cookies so much that we have no more.” Says Ms. Maggie, with a sad voice.

"Our machine broke, and we will have the cookies back in the afternoon." Says Ms. Maggie regretfully. She knows how much Juliana loves her cookies and does her best to make her feel better.

Juliana began getting sad because she did not get to eat sweets often. She knew that it meant she would not receive her special treat, which made her sad.

“Thank you, Maggie,” replied her dad, “I guess we will come back later.”

At that moment, Juliana began to cry. “I want my cookies.”

“They ran out of cookies, Juliana,” replied her dad. “Would you like a different cookie?”

“No,” said Juliana, still crying.

Juliana’s dad picked her up and walked to the car. “Bye, Maggie, see you next time.”

On their way back home, Juliana did not feel better. Instead, she sat in her car seat, crying.

“Juliana, I know you wanted those cookies, and you are sad that you didn’t get any cookies.” Her dad said with a concerned look.

He understood why Juliana was sad and thought about what he could do to make her feel better.

 “I have an idea. Do you want to hug Lola?” asked her dad.

“No, I want cookies,” cried out Juliana and tossed Lola on the seat next to her.

“Let’s do the exercise we practiced before.” Said her dad with excitement.
 “Breathe into your tummy. 1.. 2.. 3..,” Juliana began to breathe with her dad.
 “Breathe out everything from your tummy, all the way out. One more time.”
 “Breathe in. 1.. 2.. 3.., Breathe out, everything out.”

“Ahh, that feels much better, yes?” Said Juliana’s dad.

At this point, Juliana’s dad remembered something.

“When I was your age, I, too, would get sad. Then one day, your grandma gave me something special that made me feel much better.” He said with the biggest smile.

Juliana was still sad but curious to discover what her grandma had given her dad.

“Special?” she asked, fascinated.

“Yes, very special. It is something I cherish close to my heart.” Her dad said with a warm smile.

“What is it?” Asked Juliana curiously.

“Well, what if I showed you? Would you like that?” smiled her dad.

“Yes,” Juliana said with a smile.

“But first, we must stop by the grocery store to get groceries.”  He exclaimed.

Juliana was unhappy that she had to wait to see the special surprise her dad had told her about. She wanted to see it now, but she sat in her car seat and began imagining the special gift.

Juliana and her dad arrived at the grocery store. Before her dad could take her out of the cart seat, she asked excitedly, “You got a puppy from grandma?”

“No,” said Juliana’s dad, chuckling, “that is too much of a responsibility to have.”

“What did you get?” asked Juliana.

“If I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise, would it?” he replied to Juliana

Puppies are special, right? She thought. She would have to find out later because they were going into the grocery store.

Juliana sat in the shopping cart basket as she and her dad went from aisle to aisle to get their groceries.

Her dad could not stop smiling as he placed two baskets of strawberries in the cart.

 Strawberries are Juliana’s favorite fruit, but she was still confused about the surprise.

At least she remembered to bring Lola with her, and they counted the boxes her dad placed in the shopping cart.

“1.. 2… 3..” Juliana said, counting with Lola.

“Ok, we are ready to go home. Let’s go see if Jay is working today.” Said her dad.

Jay is a long-time friend of Mark, and they always say hi to him when they’re at the store.

“Hello Juliana, Hello Mark, glad to see both of you!” said Jay

“Hi, Jay,” said Juliana’s dad. Juliana picks Lola up and mimics her voice. “Hi, Jay.”

“Hello, Lola,” answers Jay.

“What are you both up to today?" Asked Jay curiously.

“It’s a surprise,” says Juliana.

“Oh, what’s the surprise?" Asks Jay.

“I don’t know,” says Juliana, confused, as she looks at Lola.

“I told Juliana that when I was young, my mother gave me something special to help me when I felt sad.” Said Julianas Dad.

“Ah, I see. Then that is a special surprise.” Said Jay happily as he turned to look at Juliana.

“Do you know what the surprise is?” Juliana asks Jay.

“Not quite, but it sounds special.” Said Jay with a cheerful smile.

Juliana and her dad finished paying for the groceries and returned to their car.

“Bye, Jay. Thank you.” Both Juliana and her dad said as they waved.

When Juliana and her dad got home, they unpacked their car and brought the groceries in. Juliana brought in one box, and her dad brought in the rest.

When they work together, they finish the job quickly.

Juliana couldn’t help but notice that there was nothing special in the car either. They took everything out, and still, no surprise, no puppy.

Feeling that her dad forgot, she asks, “Where’s the surprise?”

“You must learn to be patient, Juliana. But, first, we need to put our groceries away in their proper place.” Her dad said, smiling.

Now that the groceries were put away except for a few items her dad left on the table, she noticed nothing special in the kitchen.

“Is the surprise ready?” asked Juliana.

“It’s not time yet. But first, I need you to help me with something,” said Juliana’s dad.

Juliana was not excited by her dad’s request but still said yes. So she would get to see the surprise when they were done, so she helped.

“We must wash our hands before we continue any further.” Said her dad.

Juliana got on her step stool and washed her hands with her dad.

On the table, Juliana noticed measuring spoons, bowls, and other ingredients she recognized.

“Are we making playdough?” asked Juliana, confused.

Even though playdough made her happy, she already had plenty of playdough, which wasn’t much of a surprise. It still couldn’t replace her curiosity to discover what surprise her dad had for her.

“No, we are not making playdough. I need help with something else. Ready?” He said.