Stories

Melina is now both now a listener and a teller of fairy tales. On those rare occasions where I put her to bed (Jeff usually does it), she wants to hear stories about herself, her friend Amanda, Amanda's mother Molly, and now all the kids at preschool - Aria, Sanju, and Hank seem to be favorites. And she's very particular that stories start with the words "One day..." instead of "Once up on a time." After that, she doesn't seem to care much where they go, although sometimes she makes special requests for trains or cars. So my stories usually go something like this:

One day, Melina and Amanda got in the car and Melina drove them to the beach. They drove and drove, over the mountains and through the woods and through the valleys and through the forest. Finally, they got to the beach. And there, they hired a little boat and rowed out into the ocean. They rowed and rowed and rowed, and suddenly along came a huge whale. "Hello," said the whale, "What are you doing way out here in the ocean?" "We're having an adventure," said Melina. And the whale said "Well, come on down to my palace under the sea and I'll show you around." So Melina and Amanda and the whale swam down to the whale's palace, and while they were there they came upon a teeny tiny jellyfish that was looking for its mama...

For some reason (maybe because I work in fisheries?) it seems like 90% of my stories (and Jeff's, for that matter) revolve around swimming deep down in the ocean or flying through the sky on the back of a bird. Usually there is some sort of animal that needs help - often a bear with a thorn in its paw. It's interesting to think about where these stories come from.

Melina has also been telling some stories of her own. Usually they're pretty short, like "Once upon a time there was a car. The end." (Unlike us, she is allowed to say "once upon a time.") Her stories are getting more complex, though. I will try to remember some and write them down here.