Claudia thought she'd never have to say good-bye.

The Baby-sitters Club #26: Claudia and the Sad Good-bye

Now this is why I read these books. Brava, Ann M. Martin, brava. No, people, I'm being totally serious. I knew right from the start that I would like this one. I remember thinking it was so sad when I read it as a kid (I might even have cried. And as you've probably guessed, I am not a crier. I'm a judger, and judgers can't be criers.) And that was even before I went through the harrowing experience of losing my own beloved grandfather in a very similar way. I was Janine's age and my sister was Claudia's age when it happened (My brothers do not fit into my analogy, so we will conveniently forget them for the moment.) Much like Mimi, we knew my DziaDzia was sick with cancer, but no one expected that when he went to the hospital that Monday morning, he would be gone by Tuesday afternoon. At least, if they did expect it, no one ever told us kids. I felt blindsided and betrayed, and reading about Claudia brought it all vividly back, because Claudia (and Janine's) responses are pitch-perfect. This is exactly how kids in this situation react, and I know, because I lived it.

Okay, so backing up and stepping away from my personal drama for the moment, we all remember that Mimi had a stroke during the summer after Claud's seventh grade year. Since then, she's been fine, but definitely not great. She's regained some mobility and speech functions, enough that she is able to talk with Claud and have special tea, and cook dinner, which I'm not sure is the best idea, but... You know what? Forgive me, but I'm finding it really hard to snark on this plotline, so just for this book, I'm going to just go ahead and tell it like it is. We'll return to your regularly scheduled judgemental and slightly mocking tone for the next report.

So Mimi is not well and Claudia finds it difficult to deal with this "new" Mimi. She resents having to skip her art classes or always help Mimi. I think she's really having a hard time adjusting to needing to care for the woman who's always cared for her. She even gets fed up and snaps at Mimi a few times, but she does apologize. Twice, Mimi collapses at home and has to be taken to the hospital in an ambulance, and the second time, she doesn't come home.

She's set to be released in the morning, even though the doctors still aren't sure what's wrong with her (other than being elderly and recovering from a stroke.) That night, Mimi passes away. Claudia wakes up at 4:52 am and hears her parents moving around, so she goes to them and they explain what happened. Claud is, understandably, devastated. She can't even stand to see the portrait she painted of Mimi hanging on her wall, so she moves it to the attic.

So word spreads, as word does, and neighbors and friends come by the house with food, as one does after there's been a death. Claud insists tha the BSC continue to meet, so she has some sense of normalcy. The night before Mimi's funeral, Mary Anne invites the BSC to her house for pizza. It turns into sort of a private wake, where they all laugh and cry and tell stories of Mimi, and it's really sweet.

The next day at the funeral, Claud feels numb, but a few days later, when Mal tries to bring up a Mimi story at a BSC meeting, Claud angrily refuses to talk about her. The other baby-sitters try to help her, but they can't stop her from working through the stages of grief. People don't treat her as they normally would- her grades fall, but her teachers don't make a big deal of it. Her non-BSC friends, like Dori and Ashley slip sympathy cards in her locker but have a hard time talking to her, and oh my God, all this stuff totally happened to my family. My brother failed calculus after Dzia died. My friends gave me flowery sympathy cards that said things like "In your hour of sorrow, know that the sun will always rise, blah, blah, blah."

One night, Claud finds Janine in Mimi's room going through her jewelry and flips out. The Kishis have a family conference and decide that it is time to go through Mimi's things. Claudia also confesses how angry she is at Mimi for leaving her, and yet how guilty she feels, as if it's her fault for snapping at Mimi that one time. The Kishis are good parents and they talk her down off her cliff. They really are a great family. A few days later, Claud presents her family with an art project she's been working on, a collage in honor of Mimi. Of course, they all love it and agree to hang it in Mimi's old room. And finally, Claud feels ready to bring her portrait of Mimi back down from the attic. Sniff.

In other news, Claud and Mary Anne are teaching a Saturday art class for some neighborhood kids. Corrie Addison is one of the kids in her class, and she and Claud bond because they both feel abandoned by those they love (Claud by Mimi and Corrie by her parents, who apparently never want to spend time with her). Claudia gets up the nerve to tell Mrs. Addison how Corrie feels and Mrs. A is so moved that she changes her life and suddenly decides to start paying attention to her children.

Two final things, one heartbreaking, one hilarious.

Heartbreaking: Kristy has a short moment of vulnerability with Claud, telling her that Corrie has gotten really attached to her, and that Claud needs to be sure not to forget about Corrie once Claud starts feeling better. Kristy says, "Be careful, that's all. Everyone says little kids don't break, but they do. Inside. I broke when my father walked out on us." It's so rare that Kristy mentions her father, and even rarer that she's so vulnerable about it. Honestly, it broke my heart.

And to end on a lighter note, the Hilarious: Jessi wants to audition for a ballet at the Stoneybrook Civic Center. According to her, "the productions at the Civic Center are practically off-off Broadway." Oh, give me a major break! No, Jessi, no they are not. And if they were, you would not be dancing in them. Puh-leeze.