Sarah Simpson's Rules for Living Read Online Free Page B
Author: Rebecca Rupp
pants to Goodwill.
George isnât speaking to me. He thinks Iâm mean.
APRIL 10
Last night Katie Costello had a dream about getting on the school bus and then discovering that sheâd forgotten to put on her clothes. She wasnât naked or anything though. She was wearing these very cute pink flannel pajamas.
THINGS I FOUND OUT TODAY ABOUT DREAMS
1. Ryan Matthews can smell things in his dreams.
2. Jason Dobbs has nightmares about spiders.
3. Ronnie Pincus always dreams in black and white. He says itâs because when his mother was pregnant with him, all they had to watch was this very old black-and-white TV set.
4. Emily Harris says that when you dream about something you really want, that means itâs going to come true.
5. Horace says that dreams are the products of the subconscious mind.
I had a dream too. In my dream it was one of those really perfect spring days. The sky was pale, pale blue like forget-me-nots, and the daffodils were out all along the stone wall behind our house, dozens and dozens of them, like all these little suns, and in my dream I just knew something wonderful was about to happen. It was that Christmas-morning sort of feeling, all happy and excited, when your blood feels like itâs all full of fizzy little bubbles, like ginger ale. So I came downstairs and Sally was sitting in the kitchen in her prettiest dress, the green gauzy one with the embroidery around the hem, with the sun shining all around her, and she smiled at me and said âItâs going to be today, you knowâ and I knew she meant the something wonderful. And then there was a knock on the front door. So I went to answer it and my father was standing there, and he was smiling too, and he said âHello, pumpkin, Iâve come homeâ and in the dream I was so happy that I didnât even care that he called me pumpkin, which I hate.
Then I woke up.
APRIL 12
Sally told me why my father needs to stay with Kim just now. Kim is having a baby. Itâs making her sick. My father is taking care of her.
feckless
(adj.) Unthinking, irresponsible.
That is what Andrea called my father.
Sally says that is not fair. People change, Sally says, and when you care for someone, you want them to have what they need to be happy.
I think if people are going to change, they shouldnât get married in the first place.
Also I think Sally could have tried harder to be what my father needed to be happy. She could have put on fingernail polish and stopped wearing those ratty jeans with the hole in the knee.
So much for dreams.
APRIL 19
Horace and I spent most of the afternoon in the Underworld. Horace sat on the floor and I sat on the piano bench. While the second grade was practicing its snowflake dance, Horace explained his Theory of Ethical Lying. I am wrong about always telling the truth, Horace says. Sometimes lying is morally justified.
Also Benjamin Franklinâs list is not perfect. For example, it doesnât say anything about not killing cows to make hamburgers.
Horace is a vegetarian.
WHEN LYING IS JUSTIFIED, ACCORDING TO HORACE
1. When your grandmother knits you a stupid orange hat shaped like a jellyfish and gives it to you for your birthday and then asks you how you like it.
2. When you are helping fugitive slaves and the slave catchers ask you if there is anybody hidden under the floorboards in the living room and there is.
3. When there are spotted owls living in the trees next to your house and a hunter asks you if youâve seen any owls.
4. When your mother asks you if youâve done your math homework and you say yes, you have, even though you havenât, but you only do it to save her stress and worry.
5. When at the time you thought you were telling the truth but later you reconsidered and changed your mind in light of present circumstances.
6. When telling the truth would really hurt somebodyâs feelings.
I told Horace what I said to George about the
George isnât speaking to me. He thinks Iâm mean.
APRIL 10
Last night Katie Costello had a dream about getting on the school bus and then discovering that sheâd forgotten to put on her clothes. She wasnât naked or anything though. She was wearing these very cute pink flannel pajamas.
THINGS I FOUND OUT TODAY ABOUT DREAMS
1. Ryan Matthews can smell things in his dreams.
2. Jason Dobbs has nightmares about spiders.
3. Ronnie Pincus always dreams in black and white. He says itâs because when his mother was pregnant with him, all they had to watch was this very old black-and-white TV set.
4. Emily Harris says that when you dream about something you really want, that means itâs going to come true.
5. Horace says that dreams are the products of the subconscious mind.
I had a dream too. In my dream it was one of those really perfect spring days. The sky was pale, pale blue like forget-me-nots, and the daffodils were out all along the stone wall behind our house, dozens and dozens of them, like all these little suns, and in my dream I just knew something wonderful was about to happen. It was that Christmas-morning sort of feeling, all happy and excited, when your blood feels like itâs all full of fizzy little bubbles, like ginger ale. So I came downstairs and Sally was sitting in the kitchen in her prettiest dress, the green gauzy one with the embroidery around the hem, with the sun shining all around her, and she smiled at me and said âItâs going to be today, you knowâ and I knew she meant the something wonderful. And then there was a knock on the front door. So I went to answer it and my father was standing there, and he was smiling too, and he said âHello, pumpkin, Iâve come homeâ and in the dream I was so happy that I didnât even care that he called me pumpkin, which I hate.
Then I woke up.
APRIL 12
Sally told me why my father needs to stay with Kim just now. Kim is having a baby. Itâs making her sick. My father is taking care of her.
feckless
(adj.) Unthinking, irresponsible.
That is what Andrea called my father.
Sally says that is not fair. People change, Sally says, and when you care for someone, you want them to have what they need to be happy.
I think if people are going to change, they shouldnât get married in the first place.
Also I think Sally could have tried harder to be what my father needed to be happy. She could have put on fingernail polish and stopped wearing those ratty jeans with the hole in the knee.
So much for dreams.
APRIL 19
Horace and I spent most of the afternoon in the Underworld. Horace sat on the floor and I sat on the piano bench. While the second grade was practicing its snowflake dance, Horace explained his Theory of Ethical Lying. I am wrong about always telling the truth, Horace says. Sometimes lying is morally justified.
Also Benjamin Franklinâs list is not perfect. For example, it doesnât say anything about not killing cows to make hamburgers.
Horace is a vegetarian.
WHEN LYING IS JUSTIFIED, ACCORDING TO HORACE
1. When your grandmother knits you a stupid orange hat shaped like a jellyfish and gives it to you for your birthday and then asks you how you like it.
2. When you are helping fugitive slaves and the slave catchers ask you if there is anybody hidden under the floorboards in the living room and there is.
3. When there are spotted owls living in the trees next to your house and a hunter asks you if youâve seen any owls.
4. When your mother asks you if youâve done your math homework and you say yes, you have, even though you havenât, but you only do it to save her stress and worry.
5. When at the time you thought you were telling the truth but later you reconsidered and changed your mind in light of present circumstances.
6. When telling the truth would really hurt somebodyâs feelings.
I told Horace what I said to George about the
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