Life As We Knew It

On September 6, Miranda writes that her mother has begun to take naps during the day. The temperature has dropped, and Miranda finds herself wondering which is worse, to be hungry or cold. Miranda finally goes to the pantry, though her mother has asked them not to look there, to see if things are really as bad as she thinks. She is relieved, however, to see that they still have provisions. She wonders why they are starving themselves when they have so much food. Looking over the food, Miranda notices a bag of chocolate chips that she picked up when the family went shopping at the supermarket right before things went bad. The sight of the chocolate chips makes her goes “a little crazy” (192). Miranda feels the chocolate chips are hers, and she snatches the bag, rips it open and begins devouring the contents, making herself sick in the process. She is eventually caught by her mother, as she expected she would be. Her mother starts yelling at her, but when Miranda yells back and flings chocolate chips across the floor, her mother freezes, scaring Miranda, and then calmly tells Miranda to eat every last chocolate chip. Miranda complies, noting that her mother seemed like an alien or a pod person. Her mother even forces her to eat the chocolate chips she threw on the floor. When she finishes them all, she feels as if she might throw up. Her mother tells her that as she has eaten enough food for four people, she will go without her next four meals. When Miranda tries to complain, her mother tells her that she was saving the chocolate chips for Matt’s birthday, which is coming up, and that once again, Miranda has neglected to think about anyone but herself.

On September 14, the family celebrates Matt’s 19th birthday. Miranda’s mother bakes oatmeal raisin cookies for dessert, and Miranda feels guilty because she knows he would have preferred chocolate chips.

On September 22, the family receives two letters from their dad, dated from August. He says that though he and Lisa made it to the Kansas border, Kansas is not letting anyone in unless they can prove they have family with property there. He also says that there are rumors of officials who can be bribed to let people in, so they might have to try to get to Colorado this way. They could try to enter the back way, but there are reports of vigilantes keeping people out by force. Furthermore, there are restrictions on pregnant women, and Lisa is visibly showing now. He says they might drive to Oklahoma and try to enter that way, but that the state is practically unpoliced now and they are running out of gas. They are staying at a refugee camp, but can only stay for a limited time before they have to leave.

Miranda and the family are worried on account of the letters. Their dad has never wanted to worry them before, but his news all sounds grim. It is also one of the first reports they have received about how bleak matters are in other parts of the country. When Miranda returns from getting kindling the next day, she finds her mother sobbing. She tries to comfort her, and her mother says she wonders what became of the man’s child she helped while shopping earlier on. Miranda knows her mother is really worried about Lisa, but says that she understands the deflection because “sometimes it is safer to cry about people you don’t know than to think about people you really love” (199).

When Miranda goes inside for brunch, she hears her mother cry out and finds that she has fallen and hurt her ankle. Matt and Jonny are both at Mrs. Nesbitt’s, so Miranda takes her bike and rushes to the hospital to get Peter. When she arrives, however, she is not allowed to enter the building. Though the guard eventually agrees to pass on a message for her, he draws out the ordeal, forcing Miranda to beg for his assistance. She says that the pleasure the guard takes from making her beg causes the same nauseous feeling as eating the chocolate chips. A second guard arrives and reiterates that they cannot help her, and that doctors do not make house calls. He says her best bet is to wait and see if anyone she knows comes out who can relay the message to Peter. Miranda is frantic, and feels helpless. She admits that she would have killed the guard with his own gun if she could have. People walk in and out of the hospital, but no one gives Miranda the time of day, they treat her as if she is begging for money. She tries to sit down but the guards tell her she cannot loiter. As she has not eaten, she begins to get dizzy, but the guards tell her not to faint. When the first guard goes to get food, Matt shows up. Matt happens to know the second guard, who lets him into the hospital, where he finds Peter. Miranda learns that she has been standing outside the hospital for three hours. When Jonny returned home earlier, he found their mom, who was more worried about Miranda than her ankle.

Back home, Matt asks Miranda is she is alright, and whether the guards gave her a hard time. She lies and says that she is fine, though the entire ordeal has made her angry. She is furious that she was made to beg while her brother just walked up and was allowed to enter. She is also upset that Peter did not apologize for the behavior of the guards; instead, he noted that security is necessary because of looting. Peter finally looks at Miranda’s mother’s ankle and announces that she has a bad sprain, but that nothing is broken. Jonny gets her a cane from the attic and Peter tells Laura (Miranda’s mother) to stay off of her foot for a while. He also gives them some surgical masks, and tells them to use them whenever outside. Though Miranda’s mother apologizes for being so clumsy, the kids say they will take care of things while she gets better. Miranda, however, feels helpless. When her mother was well, she was able to pretend that everything would be alright and that she would be taken care of. But with her mother injured, Miranda starts to realize the gravity of the situation they are in.

The next day, Miranda’s mother thanks her for being brave and rushing out to find Peter. She then asks Miranda to cut her hair, which Miranda does. Miranda also visits Mrs. Nesbitt, as her mother used to do nearly every day. Mrs. Nesbitt says that though she is old and will not survive the present situation, Miranda is young, and that if she stays strong she can get through it. She then tells Miranda stories about Laura as a child, which Miranda loves to hear. On September 23, Peter returns to inspect Laura’s ankle. He says she is doing better, but needs to stay off of her feet. Miranda notes how much older he looks. Matt responds by pointing out that most of his patients are probably dying, he is divorced, and his two daughters have died as a result of the moon event. Miranda wonders how she will react when people she knows start to die.

On September 26, Miranda and Matt go to the library, where Miranda sees Michelle Schmidt, the girl who was thought to be missing. Seeing Michelle makes Miranda wonder what else about their situation is a lie. She realizes that she is still able to enjoy her life. Her family spends so much time worrying that they are used to it. Being with her family, visiting Mrs. Nesbitt, and seeing that Michelle is alright, makes Miranda believe that things can be alright. Even though she might be deluding herself, she would rather invest in the delusion than give up hope. Miranda’s mother is thinking of writing down stories about their relatives, which Miranda likes. She likes thinking about being connected to something bigger than herself.