On this wet and lazy Sunday morning I began my day thinking of a word.
DISTANT
It's the next dreem-word-of-the-week and I mixed my burgeoning ideas with some fun conversations I've had with Miss @dreemsteem about the beautiful power of going slow - the power of the tortoise, I call it.
Those ideas took me back to an old familiar fable about The Hare and the Tortoise and one of my favourite sites, (apart from Hive, obviously) Gutenberg.org, where you can find a wealth of free ebooks from the past.
On top of that, my thoughts took me back to two posts I read this week, one by @nickydee which you can read here and the other by @grindan that you can peruse here.
All these thoughts and inspirations led me to write a little story which I invite you to read and hope you enjoy. 💛
Shush, Child. There's no race.
Oh, I don't know. Foolishness, I guess.
Why, Chil', if you go too fast, you don't have time for seeing the flowers along the way. See.
Those ones are daisies, Chil'. They are pretty aren't they? Something about them always makes me smile. I remember when I was around the same age as you are now, I'd pick them and bind them together to make daisy chains. Would you like to do that?
Trouble? Why would we get in trouble, Chil'? I was thinking of getting on the floor but I don't see no trouble to get in. Do you?
Really? Well, I guess we'll just have to pick one to see. Won't we? But, wait a minute first. You're going to have to tell me what to look out for. What does trouble look like?
A monster you say. Ummm. Interesting. And how do we get in this monster you call Trouble?
You can't? But you asked me if we pick the flowers, won't we get in trouble? So, if trouble is a monster, I want to know how we get into it. After all. That's important, isn't it? The HOW.
Hmm. I think you just saw how you could get into trouble just then. I saw it on your face. What picture did you see?
Oh, Chil'. Come here. Come right into my arms. No monster is going to eat you up while I'm here with you. But I can see why you wouldn't want to pick the daisies now. You've conjured up a mighty monster called Trouble and think he might eat you up if you pick one.
Well, let's just sit here a while and look at the daisies, shall we?
The mother and child sit for a while. After a time, momma begins to sing.
I'm a little daisy, tall and slim. Here are my petals. Here is my stem. When the sun comes up and the rain comes down, I grow, grow, grow up from the ground!
https://laptimesongs.com/im-little-daisy/
And with the last word of the song, Momma plucks a small daisy from the ground hugging her child all the time.
Yes, I did. Didn't I? I picked it for you.
What monster, Chil'? I don't see no monster. Do you? Haha! And you certainly won't see one with your head buried inside my cardi. Look Chil'. There are no monsters here.
No. He won't. We're just going to sit here and have us some fun instead. Hehe!
Now, that's a very good question, Chil'. How do we have fun? First off, it's important that we feel safe. And that's not likely to happen when we're thinking about a horrible monster called Trouble, is it?
Yes. I can see that. But you know what I can't see?
I can't see any monsters here. All I can see are pretty little daisies and you. What can you see?
Yes, that's right. We're the only ones here. Do you feel safe?
Good. Because that's the first step toward having some fun. Do you wanna know what the second step is?
It's this. And this. And this.
You want me to stop tickling you? Do you? Oh, but I can't. I'm having too much fun. You see how easy it is.
Okay, sweet chil' of mine. I'll stop. But only if you tell me you now know HOW to have fun.
You wanna know something else about having fun?
Well, it's in your smile.
Yep. And it's in your giggle.
You see, it's right there. And you're in it right now. Can you feel it, sweet Chil'?
So, sweet chil' of mine, would you like to make a daisy chain with me?
Good! Because there's something else I want you to know.
If we'd been going fast, fast, fast, we wouldn't have been able to have this much fun. Would we?
So now, do you see, why I said those people who were rushing passed us might be foolish?
Yes, sweet Chil'.
Probably, Chil'. Probably. But, will you be scared of Trouble anymore?
With that last thought tucked away as a newly-formed-memory of fun, mother and child sat and slowly made the longest and prettiest daisy chain ever.
The cover image was created in Canva using a photo by Melissa Askew on Unsplashand free elements from canva's resources.
The line breaks were created from scratch using free elements in Canva.
Dreemport gif used with permission from @dreemport & @dreemsteem.
If it isn't Juliamulcahy, the thrilling captor of minds and weaver of sensations.
Hi and thank you for blessing us again with a piece of your beautiful mind. I was lost somewhere in the daisies as a little fairy, watching this mother make magical character building memories with her daughter, and I had a smile on the whole time; such a lovely story and a thoughtful message too.
You're amazing, as always. 💓
Hehe! What a lovely comment. Thank you, Sugar. It is much appreciated and fondly accepted. You just touched and warmed my heart. Sending you love, sweet chil' 💛
Sending you loads of love too. 🤗😘
What a lovely story for a slow Sunday ...
Thank you for thinking of me 😊❤️
I wish all mamas had the support, calm and time to be this kind of mama
What a different world we would live in, huh?
Your cover photo as well. It reminded me of simpler days when we would lie in the grass and make shapes from the passing clouds overhead
Remember when it seemed as though we had all the time in the world?
And birthdays and festivities seemed to take forever to arrive?
Thanks for the moment. And the reminder. 😘
Happy slow Sunday 🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸
I do remember. 💛
mmmmm..I spent the day with my girl chil'
heheh
she turns 20 tomorrow, and we have spent countless times and times and times together giggling, dreeming and creating together.
this story came at the perfect time as I'm thinking back over the years.rmemebering this baby of mine making her way out into the world 20 years ago to this moment ..
life is a beautiful thing. I have been one of those go go go people for so many things.... but one thing I have enjoyed to the fullest, moment by moment was living life with my children.
by the way ..hehhee I could hear the southern drawl of the momma .. and feel the drowsiness as the warm summer rays bathed them in sunshine
thanks for this gift on this perfect day heheh 🥰🥰🥰🥰
You're welcome. I hope you and your daughter have a lot of fun creating new memories on her twentieth birth-day. Such an important event for you both. 💛
What a perfect capture of the way the world looks to children @juliamulcahy! The monster is the uncertainty of the child brought to life, suddenly kicked up as she ponders- what is my place in all this? Imagination taking the wheel, ANYTHING could happen if they pick the daises!
I love the dialogue this creates between a child spooked by curiosity, and a loving mother who guides her. Instead of telling her "Of course it's fine!" or defining the situation for the child, her mother asks her to tell her own story. What does this feel like to her? Perhaps if trouble is a monster, getting in trouble might mean being the trouble?! Life is short, and even adults can be prone to seeing monsters in the shadows of their own precarious place in this world!
It always amazes me that as we teach, we also learn. Conversations with a child spark so much magic in the world! It makes me smile that the conversation that inspired my post about Gleb, in turn inspired you! Thank you so much for sharing this fantastic story :)
Yes, I definitely have to thank your 4-year-old for her brilliant imagination and the inspiration it provided. Hehe!
It's always a treat when words just write themselves on the page and characters are borne from thin air.
@grindan
Hi @juliamulcahy,
Thank you for participating in the #teamuk curated tag. We have upvoted your quality content.
For more information visit our discord https://discord.gg/8CVx2Am
Thank you, lovely #teamuk! 💛
You are such a wonderful story teller, I could hear and see the the conversation between them.
That's so kind of you to say. Thank you, @nightbird01 😊
that's a really sweet story
Thank you, @stuartcturnball
Some day, I’m going to have a girl and we are going to do something as beautiful as this. I love the dialogue. The gentle guidance and how the more directed the mind of the child. So sweet.
Fear is an illusion they say.
aaah, Jules... what a beautiful pleasure it is to wander into this world of wonder that you create. I see you slowing us all down... giving us all space to take a breath with the beautiful pacing of your soulful story... I love the Southern drawl too hehe. You added such character and depth... and revealed a touching and beautiful relationship between mother and child in the sharing of vulnerabilities and fears.. and the way in which only moms and dads can kiss them better and make them disappear 💗 I felt like I was sitting there with them making daisy chains and wishing away imaginary trouble monsters just so she could be happy and carefree !LUV !LOLZ
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You're always welcome to wander in my wonder-land, Sam. Hehe.
This one was a beautiful treat to write, and did, as I said, start with thoughts about our upcoming DWotW. It was interesting to hold back from narrating and just allow the voices to take centre stage, and my time in Virginia obviously left its mark. 🤗
It's quite lovely when dialogue just works 💗🤗
You spent time in Virginia? Nice! Pray do tell more hehe... !LUV
I went to University of Virginia in my second year as an exchange student. It was quite an experience. Complete lifetime ago now. 🤗
Oh wow, that's fascinating! What an opportunity and a privilege, Jules... that intrigues me as to how the difference in syllabus is managed or was it a year when you could pick up different credits? 🤗
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Dear @juliamulcahy,
May I ask you to review and support the Dev Marketing Proposal (https://peakd.com/me/proposals/232) we presented on Conference Day 1 at HiveFest?
The campaign aims to onboard new application developers to grow our ecosystem. If you missed the presentation, you can watch it on YouTube.
You cast your vote for the proposal on Peakd, Ecency,
Thank you!
Sorry for the delay in response, @arcange. I will slot it into my to-do list for today. 🙏
Thank you, looking forward to getting your support for the proposal ⏳🙂