I aspire to be a good writer and story teller someday. I think maybe I'm a better story teller because I have to use facial expressions and hand gestures to get my point across--very difficult on the printed page. I'm not good at making up stories, though. I admire novelists like Karen Kingsbury who can think of an entire series, including characters and plots, on a plane trip home from somewhere. I'm really better at embellishing things that actually happened. My husband calls this exaggerating. I call it making a dull story a bit more interesting.
Tonight Big Sissy was desperately trying to tell her daddy a story while he was brushing Little Sissy's teeth. I was in the other room trying to get the baby to sleep, but I could hear that she was talking and no one was listening. I always have mommy guilt and this fear that my kids are going to end up in counseling because their parents had too many kids too close together and no one gets heard. So...I asked if I could hear her story. I really did want to hear it. Here's the story.
CJ: One time I was laying on the air vent cuddling with one of my sleeping friends...
Me: Which one?
CJ: I don't remember. It was one that I slept with every night, but not Dog Dog with the blue sweater or Dog Dog with the pink sweater.
Me: Was it Scarfy? You used to always sleep with Scarfy and the 2 Dog Dogs.
CJ: No, Mom. I wasn't a baby. I was 3.
Me: OK. So what happened while you were cuddling with your sleeping friend?
CJ: Nothing.
Me: Isn't there more to the story?
CJ: No. That's it. I was cuddling with my sleeping friend on the air vent one time, but I don't remember which one it was.
Me: OK. Good story.
Maybe I should have let her tell the counselor that story. Just kidding. Note to self: Never start with the punch line. Then people are always a little disappointed at the end. That's all. There's no more to this story. As a disclaimer, we do keep our house warm. She doesn't have to lay on the air vent to keep warm. She just likes to be REALLY warm in the mornings.
4 comments:
When I was little, I used to curl up in the little bitty (and I DO mean little bitty!) closet in my and Carolyn's room. I would lay on top of the quilts Mom kept stacked in there, right up next to the warm air duct that went to the apartment upstairs. It may have looked like I was being abused, but I loved it. Warm, cozy and private. What more could a kid with two younger siblings want!
You are a fantastic writer and story-teller, and your children are adorable!
You truly have an art for story telling. No doubt about it. Big Sissy may have some work to catch up, but I still love her stories, too!
O.K..that is so funny Christy! I love hearing your writings! We should talk writing soon. I have some ideas!
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