Just Grace Goes Green (4 page)

3
She was going to miss her mom and dad.

WHY GWEN HAS TO STAY WITH MIMI

Gwen's parents have to go to China for a big business meeting, and then after the meeting they are going on a mini vacation there, without Gwen. Mimi said, "At least they are not going somewhere really fun." But still they are going to be gone on her real birthday, which is completely not fair. Mimi said that Gwen is being brave and saying that she doesn't care about that part because when her parents get back she gets to have a super-big birthday party to make up for it. But I bet she is just acting about that, because if Mom and Dad missed my birthday I would for sure be sad.

Gwen's parents have a company that sells doorknobs and coat hooks and stuff like that. Last year Gwen gave me some fancy glass
hooks for my room. They are nice, but not really the best invention ever, because as soon as you use them you can't see how great the hooks look anymore. I didn't say that, though, because that's not polite and I knew it was much better to just say thank you.

BEAUTIFUL HOOK

NOW YOU CAN'T SEE IT

WHAT SAMMY SAID

When Sammy heard what Mimi and I were talking about he said, "I bet Gwen's parents work for a secret spy network and that's why they have to go to China." He said spies were
always going to other countries to do their spy work. Usually they weren't allowed to bring their kids on missions, so that was probably why Gwen had to stay with Mimi's parents. Sammy thinks everyone is a spy. He even thought that Mrs. Witkins was a spy when I saw her climbing in and out of her basement window. Of course he was totally wrong.

Mimi rolled her eyes and said she was pretty sure that her aunt JoJo was not a spy. Sammy couldn't ask her any more about it because Max came up to him and said they had to go. Max and Sammy are taking Tae Kwon Do lessons. Max said he and Sammy can chop wood in half with their bare hands but they aren't allowed to do it outside of the Tae Kwon Do studio. This made Mimi roll her eyes again. Max and Sammy are definitely not as tough as they think they are, but we didn't say that because it was much easier to just say "Un-huh."

HOW TO MAKE SOMEONE FEEL WELCOME

1
Make a big sign and put it on the front lawn. If your friend's mom won't let you put it on the front lawn, then hang it up on a door.

2
Make sure the guest has some space to put her clothes, so empty out a few drawers and throw your friend's stuff in the closet.

3
Make signs so that the guest knows where things are.

4
Make the guest's bed nice and comfy, with pillows and stuffed animals that are cozy just in case she might have to cry.

5
Buy her favorite snacks, even if they are the kind of snacks your friend's mom doesn't normally let her eat because they are not healthy and nutritious.

6
Be cheerful and don't fight with the guest, even if she is wrong and you are right.

Mimi and I did the first four things to get ready for Gwen. The number five thing Mimi said she was going to ask her mom about. The number six thing we were saving until
she got there, and I was hoping that we were never going to need it. But it was smart of Mimi to put it on the list, just in case.

SAVING THE WORLD AT HOME

Of course Miss Lois gave us homework, so before I even got to do my one conservation thing and put it on the chart, I had to read a whole lot of pages about recycling. At first I was really grumpy about it, but in the end it was pretty interesting and probably important. Mom and Dad already do lots of recycling stuff, so it wasn't so easy to think of something new that I could do by myself.

CONSERVATION THINGS THAT I DID NOT WANT TO DO

1
Turn off the TV and read a book instead. Read the book with a flashlight to save the energy of lighting up the whole room. I could have said use a candle, but Mom would never in a thousand years let me use a candle all by myself, especially if I was holding paper at the same time.

2
Wash my dishes by hand instead of putting them in the dishwasher.

3
Save my half-eaten baked potato from dinner so I could have it for lunch tomorrow. We really need a dog so that I don't feel so guilty about throwing food away. Even though it wasn't in Miss Lois's notes, I'm pretty sure throwing away food is bad for the earth.