The Best Joke

My family has a favorite vacation spot – more beloved even than Disneyland — that we have visited almost every other summer for several years now. Always over the 4th of July, we meet our Colorado cousins at Aspen Grove for a week of mountainy bliss.

I was pretty young the first couple times we went, so when I was finally old enough to sleep in the 'teenager cabin,' I was ecstatic. We’d party all night every night! That’s what teenagers do! I just knew the week could only get better.

One night as I climbed into bed, my feet got stuck halfway down the sheet. I could not figure out why. There was nothing in the bed but the sheets, which were refusing my skinny legs entrance. I struggled for a bit before my sisters came to investigate.

Someone had short-sheeted the bed.

I had never heard of such a thing...we laughed and wondered who it could be. Then we fell asleep.

The next night after dinner, we trudged up the mountainside to our little cabin. We unlocked the door to find muddy footprints all through the cabin (including the loft) and leaves stuffed in the damp swimsuits hanging from the rafters. Later, we found Smarties had been scattered all around and in our beds. We were completely baffled.

Who could have gotten in the locked cabin? It was only unlocked for a few minutes during the day - when one of us would have been around. Was it some teenage boys playing a joke on my sisters and cousins? Had they been watching us to know when the cabin would be open and empty?
I was particularly creeped out, having spent some time alone in the cabin that day as I changed out of my swimsuit and hung it up to dry.

We talked and speculated, waited and wondered. Our parents seemed a little concerned, but mostly they thought it was funny.

It wasn’t until YEARS later that we discovered who had done it - our mothers. My mom and Aunt Cheryl kept their secret for a long time. The little pranksters.

(My mom still laughs every time we mention it. All those conversations of "remember when that happened? I wonder who it was???")

I’ve short-sheeted the beds in my house every April Fool’s Day since.

Now, I told you that story so I could tell you this one.
They're completely unrelated. I just wanted you to know that I'm an expert at short-sheeting.

While I was chaperoning for the dance last week, the teacher I was with told me this story from a year ago. On April Fool's Day she asked her students to tell the best joke they'd ever played. One of the freshman girls said,
"I told my boyfriend I was pregnant....by another guy. Then I pulled up my shirt and APRIL FOOLS was written on my stomach! It was the best joke EVER!!!"

Apparently, the rest of the kids thought it was hilarious.
Wow.