eggS hatch storieS

There is this story I tell the girls, one I created from my own thinks, which varies each time it is told. Usually this one is told at night one that always made them excited for bedtime. Not long after I began telling them these stories did they begin to request another chapter during the day, on a long drive, or any moment that seemed like the best time for another tale. It has been more than 2 years since I created those stories and still they are eager to hear them. They were invented by a desperately tired mother trying to get her daughters (minds filled with monsters) to stay in bed and go to sleep. It was something positive to keep their minds occupied while they lay in bed on the edge of slumber.

The main characters were not unlike my very own daughters. I created them, these two little girls, nameless. They were described physically, yellow haired, or hazel eyed, so that slight amount of mystery kept them wondering. The characters developed similar problems and shared similar desires. Yet there was always a consistency that remained in each story. The beginning and ending of the characthers' day was always the same. (It involved daily chores like collecting eggs and bedtime routines.) That aspect made for a full circle of expectation. Comfort. The key to pacifying any frightened child is the expectation of something known and safe. That is what these stories became to my girls. What began as a way to subdue the fears of little girls developed into something more profound. A connection between us. I use these stories as a way to close out our day; To work through those difficult moments in life or to celebrate the fun of being a kid.

Now that we are in the third, possibly fourth year of these stories, my role has become more complex. As their minds have matured more details are required to justify actions. This has led me to reduce the storytelling to a few times a week. I need the creative break and they need to forget some of their questions. One thing is clear. It is time that I consistently record these stories before they become forgotten fragments of our once important days.