Stories are gifts. Share. (Starbucks wisdom)

As Gord and I said goodbye to the kids before we went to Vermont last month, kisses and hugs all around and one little plaintive statement from Landon- "no story tonight, Mama?" I gave a giggle because "mama" is reserved for dramatic purposes, but missing his story was something that made me feel guilty about leaving him. I've told the kids a story (almost) every night since Adam was little and even though I've been doing it that long, no one has ever seemed to miss it when I couldn't for some reason.

As we mosied up to Vermont, we stopped at Starbucks for some java and this little cardboard sleeve on my cup struck me in the heart. I had never thought of the stories as a gift, but of course they are. I had been given the gift repeatedly throughout my life and hadn't realized it.

My dad told us a story every night before bed. He had what seemed like an endless reserve of stories for us to hear. They were usually about his adventures as a youngster, living on the farm and working with his horse Jerry. Poor Dad, bone tired and exhausted from dawn til dusk manual labor, he would read & pray with us and then tell us a story. It was a something we all enjoyed and we wouldn't allow Dad a night off from his duties. Even after Barry and I had outgrown the stories, he had a fresh supply of stories for Leanne and Mark, featuring helicopters and fancy sports cars.

Maybe he knew he was crafting an art, maybe all along he realized he was a giving us a gift. To me the child, it was something we demanded and he delivered. To me the adult, I know now it was a gift delivered by an artist. Every night a piece of our family history was packed in our heads. They were calming stories that set the stage for a peaceful sleep.

Adam was eight years old before he would go to sleep without a story. When he first asked for a story, I couldn't think of anything to say. I would try to remember some of my dad's stories but they didn't come out as interesting and action filled as he told them. So I made them up. I made up "Golden", he was Adam's horse with a golden hoof. Golden was a super hero horse who flew and saved people and things from certain peril. Adam was obsessed with horses at the time and it was a perfect character for him.

David and Maura were not into stories at all. Whew.

Landon is my other story boy. He has to have a story before bed and he too has a specific character that is featured in every story. He is the main hero who saves everyone in his airplane with the golden wing. If he is being a rascal about going to bed, I can threaten him with not telling a story and he will shape up. That's magic, people. If we've had a problem during the day or evening, the story can be a great way to get a point across or create a setting where he can see his behavior as a third person, it helps him see how it affected others, etc.

I have to admit that there were many nights that I did.not.want to tell a story, it takes a certain measure of relaxed calm to make up details, but I felt so mean if I said no to the stories. Now, after realizing how important they are to the little man, I feel privileged to tell him my silly made up stories.


Did you have a story teller at your beck and call when you were a kid?
Where your favorite stories the made up kind or the historic kind?
Have you viewed the stories you've heard as a gift?