Bedtime Stories

I tell my daughter bedtime stories. They are largely all plot. The characters vary but many times they are named Penelope or Purple or Pearl or some other P name. They often go on until I finda  way to resolve the plot mess I have gotten into, then they resolve suddenly and dramatically, usually happily. Penelope saves all the on the morning I have forgotten everything. But she remembers.

She reminds me of the story in the morning or the next night and asks me to tell it again. I listen with curiosity. I ask her for details. Sometimes it all comes back to me but most of the time I am baffled. Did I tell you that? It is almost like the just fly through my brain and then they are gone. I have to go into story telling mode/trance, and wait for one to fly in before I can start. They are like bats, they usually only fly in at night.

I have to be careful about sequels or ending on a cliff hanger because if I don't know any of the characters or plot tomorrow it is hard to pick up where you left off.

I like to believe that some of them are genius Ericksonian tales that subtly shift and heal her, but most of the time they are pretty silly. Sometimes she boos me at the end and tells me it stunk. But for the last few months I have had positive reviews.

We finally found a solution for when she wants to hear a certain story over again. We started recording them with my digital audio recorder. Then she can play it back and listen whenever. And then she and I had the idea to share some of these with whoever who feels like listening.

I make no guarantees about their entertainment value or appropriateness. My daughter is 8 so her attention span is longer than it used to be. The stories are usually 15-20 minutes. That's about how long it takes me to resolve a plot. Although there are some that are very short. So if you feel like listening here is the link: Penelope's Bedtime Stories. Click on the tracks tab to see all the stories we have uploaded so far.

Sat Nam.