"I can't get to sleep, Grandma", said the little voice dolefully on the other end of the phone. "Daddy said I could ring you for a bit". His voice tailed off uncertainly. "Of course you can" I replied, settling into Himself's work chair. "Have you had a story yet?"
"Lots" came the reply. "Lots and lots. Daddy says his story-reading place is full up now". Himself and I smiled at each other. "Mmm, that can happen sometimes", I said. "Would you like me to read you one?" Himself reached forward and lifted down from the shelf behind me our well-worn copy of one of Rev. Awdry's classics.
"Could we have a train one? About James The Red Engine?" came the eager voice."And can you wait a minute? I'm coming back". We waited. Himself picked up the camera.
"I'm here again" he said, a little breathless."I just needed to get onto the sofa".
"Are you comfy now?" I asked.
"Yes", he said. "And I've got wiggly toes".
"Oh my goodness", I replied, "we'd better get going! Can you make the noise of the whistle blowing?" And off we went. His Dad's voice interrupted me half-way through story number three. "Brilliant, Mum, he's fast asleep - thank-you! I'm just going to pop him into his bed ..."
And that's the back story to my page below today: printed out, tucked in at the back and held in place by the page protector. Building a stack of patterned paper behind a photo has been a prompt in Shimelle's Remix class, and my November reflection for Ali Edwards' One Little Word seemed a good place to experiment ...
Sometimes, a page can hold much more than just one story: there might be three here. Possibly four if I were to add The-Inking-of-Edges-And-The-Carpet saga ... :)