Horse Camp Read Online Free PDF Page B

long time. No worries, though. I’m doing my best to keep the boys and myself out of trouble and in God’s grace.
    If at all possible, maybe you could arrange to have Percy, Pauly, and me come to the new church’s inauguration? I think it’s important for us to show the congregation a unified family. Stretch does not attend church, so we haven’t attended one service since we’ve been here.
    Please write! I miss you.
    Love,
    Penelope
    Dear Diary,
    Yesterday while taking a break from painting these run-down, old bird feeders, a job that Guess Who (yep, Stretch!) gave me, I was snooping around and found a picture of Stretch on his wedding day! Before we came here, I didn’t even know Stretch had been married and had a son who died, which Mom failed to tell me, so I had to hear it from Percy. He acted like a big know-it-all in the process, of course.
    Losing a wife and a son is so sad. These tragedies probably explain why Stretch is so crabby and why he doesn’t go to church. He’s probably mad at God for taking his family away.
    I guess he doesn’t know that you have to turn to God, not away from Him, when bad things happen. I’ve been praying night and day for God to restore my family to the way it was. I just know He can do it if I’m sincere and good enough to deserve it. He can help Mom see how bad she’s been and help her change her life for the better. I’m trying to be patient.
    Percy is driving me crazy. He never wants to talk about anything important. Like this morning, when I asked him how he was dealing with everything, he said that he was fine. Fine?! I don’t think so! I mean, he’s living in the middle of nowhere while our parents are getting a divorce! I think he’s in denial. Maybe I will try really hard to get him to open up about his true feelings. It’s not good to keep them all bundled up the way he is. He acts like everything is just fine, but it’s not.
    I had a really good talk with Pauly about everything. Since no one else is mature enough to help him through the disintegration of our nuclear family, I guess I have to. I almost wish my conversation with him would have been taped or recorded so Mom could watch it and see how terrible this is for Pauly. If my cell phone had any modern applications, I could have recorded it. But since it doesn’t, I couldn’t. Luckily, I remember everything.
    Firstly, I told Pauly that I knew this was a really hard time for him. I said if he wanted to, he could ask me any questions. He asked me if he could have a Popsicle. I told him that’s not the kind of question I meant. Then I told him that he should know that even though Dad and Mom sent us here for a little while, they both still love him a lot, especially Dad.
    Pauly was just looking around, not concentrating, a sure sign of distress. I asked him if he was confused about anything. He inquired what the word lackadaisical meant, although of course he didn’t say it right. When I asked him why, he said it was because Uncle Stretch had commented that Pauly’s hair looked like a lackadaisical cat resting on his head. I told Pauly to never mind that, and that his hair looked fine.
    Next, I asked Pauly if he was confused about who was in his nuclear family or who is in charge and who he should be listening to. He said that he thought Uncle Stretch was in charge of him, and I told him it was not just Uncle Stretch, but me, too. He asked if Percy was in charge of him, too, but I told him to never mind Percy, which made Pauly smile.
    He must have been feeling better then, because he started talking about cartoons, some of which are violent, like SpongeBob SquarePants, but I chalked that up to Pauly’s trusting me, and I decided not to shame him for watching cartoons. I just hope he isn’t turning to false idols at such an early age!
    I asked Pauly if he remembered to pray nightly, and I told him that if he needs guidance or