Two for Joy Read Online Free PDF

“It’s all right. You can stay in here with us. I lost my modesty a long time ago.”
    “That means Tannie’s not shy, Jenna. Close the door, though, so Tannie doesn’t get too cold.”
    So I got in the shower with all my clothes on, too, and scrubbed Tannie’s back with a washcloth and washed her hair with a special shampoo for baby-fine hair.
    Tannie washed her own legs. Mom says that Tannie still has the prettiest and strongest legs ever and that we are lucky that our legs are just like hers. Tannie says those are farm-girl legs and that they run in the family.
    When we were all in the shower, dropping the soap, Butt meowed and meowed until we let him come in. Butt really is a big baby; he always cries when he gets left out. I don’t blame him; I don’t like to be left out either.

A t supper, nobody was bossy and nobody was rude. Tannie said the blessing. Mom and Tannie closed their eyes and bowed their heads, while I tried to get Butt to bow his head, too. Tannie prayed:

    At exactly the very same second, Mom and I added, “And thank you for Tannie!”
    While we ate, Tannie said she wanted to call a family meeting, something Mom and I had never done before Tannie came. “There are two rules to know about this, girls,” Tannie told us. “Number one: everybody gets to have their turn to speak. Number two: everybody has to listen when it’s not their turn.”
    “My turn first,” Tannie said. Mom giggled. I picked Butt up in my lap because he had to listen, too.
    Tannie looked right at Mom said, “I need to say something important. I want both you girls to really listen. I’ve had a secret that I haven’t told anyone. Not even myself. I didn’t know it until I came here, but I don’t want to live alone anymore. You girls are like my own, and I want to be with you. We do need to change some things around here, though, if we’re all to be happy.”
    Mom nodded, and I nodded, too. “You go first, Tannie. What would you like to change?” Mom asked her.
    “Well, we could all be having a lot more fun together. My bones are fragile; I know that is a fact. I reckon I’ll have to use this rotten walker forevermore. But there is still a lot left that I can do. If I can’t dance the jitterbug anymore, I can still play a mean piano. I know I won’t be kicking a soccer ball with Jenna ball anytime soon, but I can sit down in a chair and watch her win games.”
    Mom let Tannie keep on talking. “What else, Tannie? What else needs to change around here?”
    “I can help around here more than I do. I know I can’t handle myself in the kitchen the way I did before this last fall. But I can surely teach you how to make pound cake. I probably shouldn’t try to vacuum while I’m on the mend, but I can fold clothes until the cows come home; that’s not going to hurt me.”
    Tannie grinned at Mom and reminded her, “Grace, we all need help sometimes.”
    Then Mom turned to me. “Jenna, how about you? What would you like to change around here?” Butt pawed my chin.
    I pulled my Tannie List out of my back pocket. I looked at it hard before saying anything at all.
    “Well,” I started, “I agree with Tannie. We could have more fun, like we could build a tree house, dig a garden, or hang birdhouses. Maybe we could bake the pound cake tonight.”
    Mom nodded slowly. “Is there anything else?”
    I looked at Tannie and smiled because I didn’t want to hurt her feelings, but I had something even more important to say to Mom.
    “Well,” I started again, and then swallowed hard to make sure that I said it right. “I mean, you haven’t tucked me in once since Tannie moved here.”
    “Really?” Mom blinked and cocked her head. “Oh, Jenna.”
    Mom got up from her chair and came to squat down by me. “I guess I have been so busy trying to take care of everything after work. Have I been taking care of everything but you?”
    I didn’t answer.
    Thankfully, Tannie spoke up. “What a good family meeting this has