It’s Story Time!

“There once was a little boy eating pizza,” Declan began.

He was sitting in his car seat eating a slice of pizza he had obtained after bouncing at the trampoline park and had saved for our ride home.

He took a bite of his pizza and looked out the window.

“The little boys name was Peter Parker,” Declan continued with a serious look on his face.  “And when he went to eat his pizza a spider came down from the sky and bit him.”  Declan looked out the window again, the he looked down at his hand.

“The little boy yelled “OUCH!”” and Declan flinched his arm as if he was in pain.

“Then he turned into Spiderman.” Declan smiled real big and took another bite of his pizza.

“Very good story, Declan!” I congratulated.

Story time in the car is one of my favorite pass times.  It keeps the kids from fighting.  It keeps the kids thinking.  And the stories they come up with ALWAYS keep us entertained.

“Okay!”  Catelyn exclaimed, “It’s my turn!

Once there was a man who lived alone in a one floor house.  The house was a very unique house in that it did not have a front door.  In fact, the house did not have any doors at all!  The only way the man could get in and out of the house was through the garage.”

“Oh no,” Bobby said.  “Is this going to be a scary story?”  Not one for any element of fear, Bobby hates a scary story.

“Ummm.  No.  Well, maybe just a little.

So the man had to get his mail one day and went out of the garage.  As soon as he left, the garage door came crashing down, shutting the man out of the only entrance to his house.  The man was afraid.  The sound of the door crashing down startled him.  The door shouldn’t have fallen.  It was secured tightly the last time the man had checked.

The man hesitated in front of the mail box.  “Best to just leave the mail there,” he thought, “I have no place to put it if I cannot get into my house.”

The man walked back to his house and tried to move his garage door.  He found that he could not.  The door was stuck shut.  He began to walk around his house to think of any window he might have left unlocked.  As he passed by the dining room window, he was sure he saw something moving inside.”

“Oh no – Catelyn I do not like your story,” Bobby interrupted and covered his ears.

“Catelyn – why don’t you wrap it up,” I suggested.

“Okay, fine.  So he went in through the window and there was a SCARY CLOWN standing there…”

“STOP!” Bobby and I both yelled at the same.

“FINE!” Catelyn shot back, and added, “The clown moved in and they all lived happily ever after.  Geez!  You are a real scaredy cat, Bobby.”

“I’m fine with that,” Bobby sighed and sat back in his chair, realizing the story had made him pretty tense.

“Whose turn is it now?” I asked to help our car ride home.

“My turn!”  yelled Declan.

And he began, turning his gaze to look out the window.

“There once was a little boy eating pizza.”

Bobby and I shot a look to each other and smiled.  Declan’s story was very minimal.  It varied ever so slightly every time he told it.  And it always ended with Spiderman and a smile.