Story Hour

Some look forward

To going out to a movie

Others can’t wait to try

A new restaurant

A soft intimate moment

Is desired by still others

But a little late in the game

I have found ‘Story Hour’

To be the most desired ticket in town

‘Story Hour’, ‘Story Hour’

Seriously? Seriously?

How can that be?

Well like most things

There is a history

Spent my early years as a parent

Working way too many hours

Trying to achieve what I already had at home

Little children and a loving wife

Nonetheless I had a few moments with them

But not enough as I now know

Of course my wife invited me

To my first ‘Story Hour’

Well, invited is a misnomer

Actually said we were going to ‘Story Hour’

With our youngest granddaughter

Two years old, blond and a pistol

So Wednesday from 9:30 to 11 was blocked off on the calendar

All other appointments were cancelled

Cell phones were turned off

And why?

Fifteen to twenty-five two to three year olds

Congregated

Okay, congregated is not even close

To an accurate description of the scene

My first impression was that I needed to protect myself

Children running without fear or brakes on their little legs

At any moment, I could see myself being toppled

Landing who know where

Finding a place on the wall to maintain my balance

Was critical in this first endeavor in Story Hour protocol

Yes, yes there were some parents

But actually it seemed grandparents

Were the primary defense between chaos and storytelling

You’re right

That is scary

But actually there is a bond with a grandparent

That at the very least

Elicits a need on the child’s part

To sit on a lap, or hide behind

Or maybe even slow to a jog

But then the ‘Storyteller’ begins the familiar music

Which signals the arrival of ‘Story Time’

The running slows down, eyes turn

Some little ones even sit

To enjoy the show

A mixture of songs, reading and dancing

Finishing with an art project

And pictures, pictures,

Are part of the contract grandparents have with parents

So that while the parents are at work

They will receive a picture of their perfect one at ‘Story Hour’

I am mesmerized by the unaltered joy

The unmitigated pleasure

The pure bubbling of laughter

Emanating from the youthful audience of the

‘Story Hour’

And yes, I have our tickets for the next Wednesday

FXC

3/30/19

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