It's My Life Read Online Free Page A

how our dear friend, Clay Berringer, had been shot last spring (and of course, they'd read about it in the papers), and we told them about the impact this whole thing had had on us. And they were sincerely interested. And when we finally left, they thanked us for telling them all that stuff. Unbelievable! Andrea and I were on such a complete high as I drove us back to her dad's cabin.
    But it evaporated as soon as we got back, because when we walked in the front door, the place just reeked with pot smoke. That's when Andrea went totally ballistic. She just tore into her dad and his friends, telling them how irresponsible they all were and how she was completely sick of them. Then we went into our room and locked the door. It's not that we were afraid. Good grief, the four of them were so spaced out that her words probably went right over their dopey heads. But I guess we just wanted to separate ourselves from them. After that, we sat down on the bed and Andrea just burst into tears. She felt so humiliated by her dad's behavior. But I assured her it didn't matter to me. “He made those choices, not you,” I said. “And it's not a reflection on you.”
    “But I feel so stupid,” she said, wiping her tears with a beach towel.
    “Look, if it makes you feel any better, I can tell you all sorts of horror stories about things I've been through with Beanie and her mom over the years–I mean, Lynn Jacobs is a whole lot more messed up than your dad. So don't worry, this stuff is nothing new to me.” And fortunatelythat seemed to make her feel a little better.
    Then I did something I don't usually do (but perhaps our chat with those local boys had emboldened me a little). “Do you want us to pray for your dad?” I offered, feeling a little self–conscious once the words were out.
    At first, she got a real curious look on her face, but then she nodded. “Yes. Let's do that.”
    And so we did. We even prayed for Jeanie and her sister and her sister's boyfriend, and we prayed for those two local boys as well. Then, totally exhausted and not wanting to leave our room, we just visited a little while, then fell asleep.
    And the next morning we got up early, got dressed, then slipped out quietly and went back to town where we attended the service in a church we'd noticed the night before. It was nothing like our regular church, just a lot of old people, but they seemed genuinely glad to have us there with them. Then we ate lunch at a little deli in town, went back to the cabin for another swim and a row around the lake, then told everyone good–bye and even thank you, and headed back home. So all in all, it wasn't such a bad weekend. Still, I'm not ready to tell my parents all the details yet.
    DEAR GOD, THANK YOU FOR SHOWING ME THAT MY PARENTS MAY HAVE SOME DISCERNMENT AFTER ALL. AND HELP ME TO RESPECT THEM MORE. (ACTUALLY, AFTER THE LAST COUPLE DAYS, I REALLY DO!!!) BUT BY THE SAME TOKEN, I THANKYOU FOR TAKING WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN A REALLY CRUDDY SITUATION AND MAKING IT BETTER. AMEN.
Tuesday, July 24 (Beanie's baby)
    It's very late, but I must get all this down before I collapse in bed. I got the call from Aunt Steph late this afternoon. Her voice was breathless as she quickly explained. “Cate, there's been an accident. It's Beanie. She's in the ER right now. Can you come?” I quickly got one of the office ladies to take over the switchboard and tried not to speed to the hospital, which is, thankfully, just a few blocks away. Holding back tears and waves of panic, I raced across the parking lot, praying for Beanie with each step. What had happened to her? Was she going to be okay?
    I found Steph and Mom standing in the ER waiting room and through bits and pieces they both told me what had happened.
    “She took oliver to the park, just like she often does,” began Steph. “He's okay. He's with Ben right now. But he was in his stroller and you know how he's just figured out how to undo everything. Apparently he undid the seat