Getting the Guest Room Ready: Editing Introductory Commas

Jun's Journal (First Draft)

1Today is Monday, and I have big news. My grandmother, Lola Remy, is flying in from the Philippines to stay with us for a whole month. She will sleep in our spare room, which is full of boxes right now. After we finished dinner tonight Mom and I made a plan. First, we will clear out all the boxes. We will also paint the walls and set up a bed. Because Lola loves plants Mom wants to put a little palm tree by the window. I hope we finish in time!

2Wednesday was box day. Working together Mom and I carried eleven boxes down to the garage. Inside one dusty box, I found my old baby blanket. Mom laughed when I wrapped it around my shoulders like a cape. When we finally finished the room looked twice as big. To celebrate, we ate cold mango slices on the back steps. Mom says Lola used to pick mangoes from a tree outside her house.

3On Friday, Dad helped us paint. Lola's favorite color is sea green, so that is the color we chose. Dad says it reminds him of the water near Lola's town. Before we opened the paint cans Dad covered the floor with old sheets. I painted the bottom half of each wall, and Dad painted the top half. Reaching up with a long roller Dad painted the ceiling white. By the end of the day, my arms were tired and my hair had green speckles in it.

4Sunday was our last day to get ready. Mom put together the new bed, and I spread the quilt Lola made for us on top. As a surprise, I taped three of my drawings on the wall above the desk. Next, we set the little palm tree in a sunny spot by the window. Mom says the room looks brand new. When Lola, arrives on Tuesday she will see how hard we worked. I can hardly wait to show her!