The stories I tell...

Everyone tells stories, but most often those stories are non-sense, mundane stories of what happened that day or what someone heard...been there, done that. My stories though have evolved, thanks to my 5 year old niece. She is my little rockstar and as any child would, she LOVES to hear stories. I can tell by the look on her face that she will ask me that question "Can you tell me a story?" How could I deny that gorgeous little girl's request?! I can't, I never do.

This summer was when she really got into the storytelling mode...And I must admit, so did I! Our adventurous roadtrip from Minnesota to Montana was filled with imagination, creativity, laughter and imporvisation and in her eyes...wonder! To see her face light up or questions race through her mind fills me with a feeling of happiness and imagination. Children need stories told to them orally, they need to be creative, imaginative and live in a world of storytelling!

My sister-in-law criticizes me for "Making- up" stories and filling them with such non-sensical ideas! Her saying this makes me tell even more stories! How on Earth does she expect her child's imagination to bloom into something beautiful and unique if we do not share these stories! Thinking about this infuriates me, so I will move on to a new point.

The stories I tell her are about things that she has heard before such as princesses, unicorns and animals...then there are MY stories...the stories of hobbits and fairies and the lands in which they live. I like to set the scene for her, give her physical descriptions...the whole shebang! What I love most is the fact that none of the stories I tell her are written down, never again will she hear the exact same story. She knows this too- she will ask me to tell her a story of a hobbit, but ask me to change it or knows that it will not be the exact same. This though does not bother her!

I have tried so hard to write her a story and send it to her, but find myself ripping it up or deleting it. I do this because instead, I pick up the phone and call her, then I tell her a story. Often she has questions that follow and I come up with some imaginative answer to suit her curiosity and 5 year old imagination. No one else tells her stories like this, except maybe my dad, but even then it is not the same.

We tell stories in the car, after school, before bed, at dinner...you name it and we are storytelling! What better way for a child to pass the time. She doesn't need TV or movies, she has her aunt to tell her stories! Sometimes she even calls me before she goes to bed to hear a story. This makes my heart melt because I know that for her, I am the best stroyteller because I allow her to live in a fiction world even for a moment and to use her imagination! That girl is going to grow up to be a great inspiration and storyteller!

One last thing before my next class...
I began to grow tired from telling the same stories so now I ask her to tell me stories and we alternate...

She began one day by telling me a story of the 3 billy goats! I was amazed because for each goat she changed her voice and when she narrated she went back to her own voice. Then the troll steps onto the bridge and her voice goes deep and mean! She is a true stroyteller using her memory and imagination. Reciting stories she has heard and also coming up with her own! I told you she was a little Rockstar!!!!!!!!