Story Time
Having had both doses of the Pfizer vaccine several weeks ago, my wife and I are blessed to be able to visit our grandsons indoors grandsons again after what seems like an eternity. We see many changes in them over the last year, but one thing that has not changed is their love of stories.
As much as they love to read stories and have them read to them, they also love it when we tell them stories. I am a natural storyteller, and so I love to make up stories for them. Their most frequent story requests are for us to tell them a story about themselves, which retells an important or silly moment in their lives. They love to join in the storytelling, adding essential details that we might have overlooked.
It seems that we don’t ever outgrow our love of stories. It’s why we love to read and watch movies. And it’s why we love to remember and share stories of both significant and silly moments in our own lives. It’s why, as we mark the first anniversary of the start of the pandemic, so many of us are finding ourselves sharing stories of the pandemic shut down, of our last large group gatherings, last trips, last times we were able to gather with or visit loved ones. As part of my many Zoom meetings and phone calls this week, I have asked at least twenty different people this week to tell me a story about what they were doing a year ago right now. Everyone has been delighted to share their memories of how and when they first knew that everything was about to be different in their lives, and they have been grateful that someone took the time to listen.
Stories are how we make sense of life. Stories are how we connect. They are how we pass on traditions, whether of family and friends, our communities, or our faith. Stories allow us to process and integrate both the joys and the sorrows of life.
So ask your friends and families to tell you a story from a year ago. And then listen to how grateful they are to have the opportunity for someone to care enough to listen as they continue to integrate all they have been through this past year.
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