Nora tucked safely into her Ergo kid carrier
I havent had the time to write in this blog lately. Ive been too busy trying to support the family, and when I do have time to write, I have been using that time to polish my One Shoe Diaries Trilogy which is set to be published in the very near future.
What prompted me to write this morning is that yesterday, a photo I had taken while on vacation at Disney World, got featured by the official Disney Facebook page. It made me see how much, in just a short span of time, my little princess has grown.
She had just turned 3 in the pic and it has been almost 6 months now since then, yet it feels like we just got back from that trip yesterday. It was a special vacation for us. She will never have such innocent wonder and excitement again. Looking back, it was truly magical.
So that got me reminiscing. And one thing, which happened since she was very little, that I never thought would come to an end, is the way I put Nora down for her naps. I mean I thought about it while doing it, but at the time it seemed like it would not end so soon I guess. In the beginning it was just once in a while because Sharon nursed her down most of the time, but once she hit 2 it was pretty much the only way we could get her to fall asleep for naps.
Whenever it was time for Nora to go down for a nap, usually around 2:00pm I would strap on an Ergo, a type of kid carrier. Then proceed to load Nora up in it and go for a walk. Rain or shine, hot or cold, it had to be done.
I recall times when I held an umbrella over us as it poured, with no end in sight, during a tropical storm. We do live a block from a freeway where I could walk for about 3 blocks without getting rained on under the elevated section. That section of highway was a godsend. Because not only did it protect me from rain, but from the blazing sun as well in the sweltering summer heat. I know we live in Florida, but it still gets cold and windy in the winter. And When it did, I would put on a big jacket that enveloped her as well, and zipped it up. Her heat would keep us both warm. I called her my little heat rock.
When she was really small, 6 months or so, she went down very quickly and silently. And it went on that way for a while. I would just strap her in, walk around a few blocks, and out she went. Transferring her from the Ergo to the bed without waking her took some practice but it became an art form.
Once she reached about 2 years old she did not go to sleep so easily. She was often curious of the world, wanting to know what was going on around us. I started telling her stories to distract her and it worked quite well. To avoid my own boredom I would try to come up with original stories. Since Nora was so into princesses, I began telling her stories involving a young princess named Penelope, Princess Penny as she liked to be called.
At first I just took plots from movies and twisted them to involve Penny. One of Nora’s favorite to hear, and a favorite of mine to tell, was the Princess and the Bride rendition. If you have ever seen the movie you can see how easy it would be to just add different names and condense the plot. It is pretty child-friendly and the ending I just have the bad guy, whom I named Gargamel for some reason, just fall asleep from the poison in the drink. Eventually to wake up surprised that he lost Princess Penny from his grasp.
She liked hearing that story for a bit, then she wanted something different. And so did I. I began making up story lines involving Princess Penny. I tried to make them with a moral at the end. like bullying is bad. Listen to your parents. Share with others. Help people who need it. And so on. But in almost every story Princess Penny would get something magical from the Magic Shop in the Village from her friend Merlin the Magic Maker.
I borrowed names for characters. The bad guy was almost always Rumpelstiltskin. Penny also found a stray dog that became her sidekick, his name was Fido. Some of the magical items that Penny had were…
A magic bubble wand that could make bubbles to surround her and lift her up into the sky, taking her where ever she desired.
A magic cape that could make her invisible, that she learned to only use for good and not bad, like eavesdropping on other girls (except to help someone else out.)
A magic tiara that could change her clothes into any dress she could imagine. Great for when a surprise ball came up that she had to attend.
A magic ring, that transported her through time. Good for when she made someone sad or did something wrong that needed to be righted.
Magic shoes that made her run as fast as the wind. She even got a pair of magic booties to put on Fido so he could keep up.
Magic beads that help her sing like an angel.
A magic purse that could never get full and could hold things like ladders and furniture. Much like her suitcase that she could climb into and have a whole house in there to stay in when she traveled.
And who could forget the magic glitter pens. These was Nora’s own invention. The glitter pens could change the weather as the shot glitter and smoke into the air. Making it rain, snow, cloud up or get warm and sunny. And Nora and Penny’s favorite pen was the orange one because it could make beautiful sunsets. The next favorite was purple, as it produced dazzling rainbows.
There was also a magic umbrella, a magic bike, a magic doll, a magic hairbow, a magic jewelry box, a magic hat, a magic belt, a magic water bottle and numerous magic potions that made Penny small, tall and even different colors. Way too many to still reside in my head unfortunately.
At one point I have to admit, it got laborious thinking up something new every day. Because this was usually in the middle of my work day and often times I was under a deadline and barely had time for the nap ritual. Ii work from a home office, so I did always find time somehow though. Thank goodness, because now I cannot imagine if I had not.
Nora did give suggestions sometimes. I would just ask her, what is todays story. And she would say something like, “Princess Penny and the Magic Picture Frame,” and I would run with it.
The cold days were the hardest. But then the gorgeous warm spring days made up for the bad ones. At the time I didn’t think I would ever come to miss those walks, but now that they have ended, I really do miss them.
Nora no longer goes down for naps. And if she does, it is a real treat to carry her snuggled up against my chest as I tell her another Princess Penny adventure. I make them a little longer now so I can relish the moment because I never know when the last time I will tell a Princess Penny story to her while walking her sweet little soul to sleep.
I cannot believe how big she has gotten. They truly do grow up so fast. I know she is only 3 now, but before I know it she will be graduating college and no longer need her daddy’s stories. And that is a thought I cannot bear just yet. Fortunately I have a few years before I do.
I try to enjoy ever moment of this young age, but I am only human, and the days pass like the all too true cliché – like sand through an hourglass. I do like seeing her develop into a young lady though. She has developed such an interesting and humorous personality. She has quite the imagination. I wonder where she gets it from? :)