This Journal Belongs to Ratchet by Nancy J. Cavanaugh Page A

taking me with her.
    Why didn’t she? The letter said she didn’t love Dad anymore, but I don’t know what she thought about me. She didn’t even mention my name.
    The Mom I remember would never leave. Especially her daughter. But maybe that means I don’t really remember her at all.

WRITING EXERCISE: Freewriting
    It’s hard for me to have a dad like Dad.
    But it’s harder for me to know that my mom was like Mom.
    I wish I never knew.

WRITING EXERCISE: Life Events Journal
    Hunter called me and told me to come over. Said he had something to show me. Something for his ’57 Chevy. But when I got there he wasn’t home. His mom told me he’d be right back. He had just gone to run some homework over to a friend’s house. I hoped it wasn’t Evan’s.
    Hunter’s Mom poured me some iced tea and sat with me at the table while I waited for Hunter to come home. As usual she looked like the “after photo” on one of those makeover shows: Her hair in its neat ponytail. Faded light blue jeans. V-neck T-shirt with polka-dot hearts on it. I sat looking like the “before photo,” wishing there was a way to will myself to look just like her.
    She talked about how glad she was that Hunter and I had become friends. She thanked me for helping him study for the go-cart test. And then she told me I had the prettiest blue eyes she’d ever seen. That’s when it happened. Maybe it was an allergic reaction to all the attention and compliments or something, but I started bawling my eyes out.
    Every tear was a wish —
    I wished I’d never gotten mad at Dad.
    I wished the jack had never slipped.
    I wished my mom hadn’t left.
    I wished she’d loved us more.
    I wished I could’ve stopped her from going.
    I wished she hadn’t hurt Dad.
    I wished I’d never opened the mystery box.
    I wished Hunter’s mom was my mom.
    I couldn’t stop the tears or the wishes.
    â€œHoney, what’s wrong? What is it?” Hunter’s mom hugged me while I cried, but that only made me wish for one more thing — that it hadn’t been so long since someone had hugged me.
    Hunter walked in. I needed to explain why I was crying. But if Dad didn’t want me to know what was in the mystery box, I knew he wouldn’t want anybody else to know either. So I did what Dad would’ve done. I stretched the truth. I told them I was crying about Moss Tree Park. It was the only thing I could think of, and thankfully they believed me. Hunter told me not to worry. He said if anyone could save the park it was my dad.
    I wished I would’ve let Dad save me from knowing that my mom must’ve never really loved me.

WRITING EXERCISE: Write a summary of an article from the newspaper or a magazine.
    Writing Format —SUMMARY: Writing that presents only the most important ideas in something you have read.
    Summary of newspaper article “Park Lovers Lose — Moss Tree Park’s Last Day”
    The decision is final. Moss Tree Park will be leveled. No more trees. No more grass. Loads of dirt will get dumped into the pond. And the swings, monkey bars, and slides will be taken down. After that, they’ll pour lots of concrete over the whole thing to make a parking lot for the strip mall. Then they’ll start building. Lots of people would rather have a park than a mall, but the people who want the mall wear suits and are more important. So they win.

WRITING EXERCISE: Poetry
    If I could change
    Some things
    I’d start with
    Having a different mom.
    But instead I’ll
    Like Dad more
    And love him enough
    So that he’ll know
    That Mom made a mistake
    When she left.
    If I could change
    Some things
    I’d be one of the
    Important people,
    And I’d make Dad
    One too.
    And we’d save the park
    Together.
    But instead I’ll
    Ask Hunter’s mom
    To teach me how to
    Make cookies,
    And I’ll make a whole bunch
    For Dad
    So