Going to the countryside

One evening, mum and dad said that we would go to the countryside this weekend.
That made me really happy.
I imagined how fun it would be to play with my cousins.
When I came home from school the next day on Friday, they said:
"Now you have to hurry up.
Have you packed everything you want to take with you?
It's almost time to go."
What do they mean packed, are we going now?
I felt confused and got annoyed and upset.
I couldn't think straight.
I'm not ready to go now.
I have to rest first.
You know that.
Why can't you explain to me so that I understand.
You forget that I can't keep up when everything moves so fast, I thought to myself.
"I can't keep up," I said, close to tears.
Mum and dad were totally taken aback at first.
But then they said they were sorry for not explaining things to me clearly.
They know that I find it hard to understand certain things.
For example, what "this weekend" means.
"It's good that you told us, we need to be better at explaining things.
We have to make sure that you understand what we mean.
We'll try to do better.
Now you can rest a bit, then we can help you pack. We'll go to the countryside when you're ready," they told me.

/Anna, 12 years old