scratched, there were bruises on my legs, and my face was red where it had been slapped by a branch that popped up at me. Those all healed quickly. What didn’t heal quickly was another part. The doctor called it a bone bruise on my coccyx. That’s the part of the spine that would be a human’s tail if we humans had tails. It’s a part of your body you just never think about until it’s not working right and mine doesn’t work right, especially when it comes to sitting down.
There isn’t much they can do for me. I got a pillow to sit on that’s shaped like a donut. That’s the polite way to describe it. When it comes right down to it, it bears a close resemblance to a toilet seat. This was pointed out to me by my brothers who think it’s hysterically funny. As far as I’m concerned, they spend entirely too much timein the tree house, laughing at me and my pillow and thinking things are hysterically funny that aren’t.
This all sounds pretty horrible, I know, but it’s not even the worst of it. Sitting down is something a person can do without for a long time, unless that person happens to be horse-crazy. If you want to ride a horse, you’ve got to be able to sit down and there’s nothing I like better than riding horses. I even like riding horses better than wreaking revenge on my brothers and that’s a lot. And now I can’t ride. I’m totally off horses for almost a month and I think it’s the worst thing that has ever happened to me.
Now that I’ve told you how awful my brothers can be, and you’re probably feeling sorry for me, there’s a good side of this, too. My friends Lisa and Carole have been totally wonderful.
As soon as I got back from the doctor, I called both of them. We’ve got three-way calling on our phone and it’s a lifesaver when it comes to The Saddle Club because it means we can have Saddle Club meetings even when we’re not together. Before my parents got three-way calling, I’d spend the whole night on the phone talking with one or the other of my friends. Now I can spend the whole night on the phone, talking with both of them. It’s perfect.
Anyway, I called them both and told them I’d hurt my bottom and I couldn’t sit down.
“You mean you can’t
ride
?!!” Carole said. Of course, she got it right away. So did Lisa.
“Oh, no, how are you going to get into a saddle?” Lisa asked.
I explained that I couldn’t. We talked about how awful that was for a long time. See, it’s very awful, so there was a lot to talk about.
The next day, we met at Pine Hollow. The two of them had convinced me that even if I couldn’t ride, I could be around horses and besides, they wanted to see me. Since it’s summer and we don’t have school, we usually all go to the stable every day. It only makes sense, even if I couldn’t ride.
The problem with going to Pine Hollow that morning was that I’d spent the whole time I was walking there thinking about how hard it was going to be to watch my friends ride when I couldn’t. I could see Carole on Starlight, having a wonderful time as she worked on his training—and hers. And then there was Lisa, still working hard to catch up to learn as much as Carole and I know because Lisa started riding after we did. She was doing so well that I realized she might even catch up and pass me while I was grounded.
By the time I reached the stable, I was crying all over again. Carole and Lisa immediately hugged me and they took me into the grain storage room where nobody could see how awful I looked, or laugh at my pillow, or overhear our conversation.
My friends told me it was going to be okay and then they hugged me some more. That made me cry some morebecause it didn’t seem to me that there was anything that could happen that would make it be okay.
“It just isn’t fair that one of us can’t ride,” said Lisa.
“Right,” said Carole.
“If one of us can’t ride, maybe none of us should be able to.”
Lisa blinked a few times,
There isn’t much they can do for me. I got a pillow to sit on that’s shaped like a donut. That’s the polite way to describe it. When it comes right down to it, it bears a close resemblance to a toilet seat. This was pointed out to me by my brothers who think it’s hysterically funny. As far as I’m concerned, they spend entirely too much timein the tree house, laughing at me and my pillow and thinking things are hysterically funny that aren’t.
This all sounds pretty horrible, I know, but it’s not even the worst of it. Sitting down is something a person can do without for a long time, unless that person happens to be horse-crazy. If you want to ride a horse, you’ve got to be able to sit down and there’s nothing I like better than riding horses. I even like riding horses better than wreaking revenge on my brothers and that’s a lot. And now I can’t ride. I’m totally off horses for almost a month and I think it’s the worst thing that has ever happened to me.
Now that I’ve told you how awful my brothers can be, and you’re probably feeling sorry for me, there’s a good side of this, too. My friends Lisa and Carole have been totally wonderful.
As soon as I got back from the doctor, I called both of them. We’ve got three-way calling on our phone and it’s a lifesaver when it comes to The Saddle Club because it means we can have Saddle Club meetings even when we’re not together. Before my parents got three-way calling, I’d spend the whole night on the phone talking with one or the other of my friends. Now I can spend the whole night on the phone, talking with both of them. It’s perfect.
Anyway, I called them both and told them I’d hurt my bottom and I couldn’t sit down.
“You mean you can’t
ride
?!!” Carole said. Of course, she got it right away. So did Lisa.
“Oh, no, how are you going to get into a saddle?” Lisa asked.
I explained that I couldn’t. We talked about how awful that was for a long time. See, it’s very awful, so there was a lot to talk about.
The next day, we met at Pine Hollow. The two of them had convinced me that even if I couldn’t ride, I could be around horses and besides, they wanted to see me. Since it’s summer and we don’t have school, we usually all go to the stable every day. It only makes sense, even if I couldn’t ride.
The problem with going to Pine Hollow that morning was that I’d spent the whole time I was walking there thinking about how hard it was going to be to watch my friends ride when I couldn’t. I could see Carole on Starlight, having a wonderful time as she worked on his training—and hers. And then there was Lisa, still working hard to catch up to learn as much as Carole and I know because Lisa started riding after we did. She was doing so well that I realized she might even catch up and pass me while I was grounded.
By the time I reached the stable, I was crying all over again. Carole and Lisa immediately hugged me and they took me into the grain storage room where nobody could see how awful I looked, or laugh at my pillow, or overhear our conversation.
My friends told me it was going to be okay and then they hugged me some more. That made me cry some morebecause it didn’t seem to me that there was anything that could happen that would make it be okay.
“It just isn’t fair that one of us can’t ride,” said Lisa.
“Right,” said Carole.
“If one of us can’t ride, maybe none of us should be able to.”
Lisa blinked a few times,
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