Hey,
Welcome back little legends.
I'm Steph and welcome to Steph and the Sleepytime Crew.
These stories are made just for you.
They're silly,
A little cheeky and full of heart,
With stories of larger than life characters that are oh so relatable,
That help your body relax,
Your mind feel calm and your feelings feel seen and safe.
Each one is a little adventure,
With characters like Isla the Tiger,
Oscar the Owl and Ziggy the Zebra,
All helping you wind down,
Breathe deeper and feel safe,
Just as you are.
So let's get snuggled in,
Take a big deep breath in and out,
Let your arms and legs go floppy like spaghetti and let's drift into the land of sleep and stories.
Tonight's story is all about a little otter,
A very special otter named Ollie.
Ollie is brave,
Ollie is so kind and Ollie gives the most amazing snuggles and Ollie feels things really deeply.
Sometimes that can be wonderful and other times,
Well,
Not so much.
Every morning when Ollie the otter wakes up,
He stretches all four paws and checks that his favourite stuffed little friend,
Mini Mysterio,
Is right there beside him.
Mini Mysterio is small and round and wears the coolest wrestling mask.
Ollie loves wrestling and WWE and dreams of the day that he can be there to watch it live.
Ollie gives Mini Mysterio a good tight squish.
I got this,
I can do hard things,
Ollie whispers to himself.
Mini Mysterio,
He never answers,
But his silence is always very encouraging.
Then it's breakfast,
A big bowl of steaming porridge is waiting on the table for Ollie,
Followed by crunchy apple slices,
Ollie's favourite,
And a few minutes of watching WWE before his day begins.
He gets so engrossed in it that before he knows,
It's time to head to school.
It's like he's blinked and they're at the door to his classroom and that's when the fizziness starts.
Ollie's tummy flips,
His paws start to get a little bit sweaty and his brain gets very loud.
His heart,
Well,
His heart doesn't want to say goodbye to Mum,
So they do what they do every school day.
Mum crouches down and whispers to him,
Time to zip up your invisible energy suit,
Ollie.
Are you ready?
And with Mum's help he does.
He zips it from the tips of his toes to the top of his nose and all the way up to his furry little head.
Zip!
Now he's inside his invisible energy suit and it feels soft and stretchy and today it's light green with a shimmer,
If you squint just right.
Then they both tug gently on their snuggle string.
It's invisible too,
But Ollie can feel it,
So can Mum.
She gives him a reassuring hug and he can feel the warm tug on the snuggle string from his heart to hers and back again.
Mum smiles at Ollie.
Our snuggle string is strong.
Ollie nods,
Even when you're not here,
Especially when I'm not here,
Mum says.
She hugs him super tight.
She gives Mini Mysterio a respectful nod and a gentle rub on his head and she watches Ollie walk into the classroom like a boss.
As Ollie steps into the classroom he zips up his invisible energy suit just a tiny bit higher because school,
Well,
For Ollie school is loud and not just in a noisy way.
There's the buzzing bright lights and there's squeaky chairs and there's tapping pencils and voices and kids everywhere.
And then there's the feelings too.
Sadness from Elsie.
Frustration from Tom.
Wiggly excited vibes from Jax.
Even Miss Turtle,
Ollie's teacher,
Feels a little bit,
Well,
A little bit overwhelmed.
And Ollie,
Well,
Ollie absorbs all of it.
He's like an emotional sponge in a big sea of feelings.
He thinks his invisible energy suit starts to crinkle.
His brain starts to squirm and go a million miles an hour.
And then a soft voice floats over.
Good morning,
Ollie.
Do you need some help and perhaps a reset?
It was Miss Puffin,
The teacher's aide.
She's tall and calm and somehow smells like eucalyptus and chocolate chip muffins,
Which Ollie finds deeply reassuring.
He nods.
She leads him to Calm Cove,
A cosy corner with bean bags and glitter jars and a big squishy sea pillow.
Let's activate your magic bubble,
She says.
It's already there right under your invisible energy suit.
It just needs your breath to blow it up.
Are you ready?
Ollie nods.
They sit together and they do a few bubble breaths.
In through the nose and out through the mouth.
Ollie goes sniff,
Sniff,
Sniff and one long big puff.
Again,
Sniff,
Sniff,
Sniff and one big puff out.
They do it one more time.
Sniff,
Sniff,
Sniff and one big puff out.
Ollie starts to feel his shoulders relax and that knot in his tummy starts to feel a little bit softer.
His classroom world starts to feel a little bit gentler and his bubble starts to glow pale green again.
That's better,
He whispers to Mrs Puffin.
She gives a gentle head bob.
Well done,
Ollie.
I'm glad that you feel better.
At recess,
Ollie really,
Really,
Really wants to play football.
He really does.
But the yelling and the whistles and the zooming kids and the kids that can say mean things.
Well,
Sometimes it feels like his invisible bubble suit might pop.
So he heads to the tree logs.
It always feels safer and a bit quieter here.
He pulls out Mini Mysterio and quietly sets up a wrestling match between Mysterio and a stick he's named the Twigler.
Twigler wins,
Barely.
Mini Mysterio is devastated,
But says that he'll keep Twigler's butt next time.
After a few minutes of breathing and bouncing his knees,
Ollie's suit feels strong again.
Not perfect,
But strong enough for now.
He heads to play football with some of his friends.
That afternoon,
The bell rings.
The classroom empties.
Ollie thinks he managed to get through another day.
And as he races out of the classroom,
There,
Like always,
Is Mum.
She holds up a shiny red apple and a smile erupts on his face.
He is so happy to see her.
And that apple,
Well,
It's crunchy and cold and just how Ollie loves them.
Mum doesn't say anything.
She just opens the car door.
She hands him the apple and presses play.
Ed Sheeran starts playing on the stereo.
Mum turns it up and they sing at the top of their lungs the whole way home.
One paw on his apple.
Another paw on Mini Mysterio.
And a snuggle string tugging softly in his chest.
That night,
After a long warm bath and two arguments about brushing his teeth,
Mini Mysterio sided with Mum on that one,
Ollie snuggles into his bed.
Mum sits right beside him and pulls out her very special question.
Hey Ollie,
Are you ready to unzip your invisible backpack?
Ollie nods.
She pretends to unzip his backpack and out tumbles all of the things he's still carrying from his school day.
Miss Turtle's cranky face.
The missed football goal.
The apple slice that hit the floor.
But together they toss them away one by one.
What stays?
Well,
The car song,
Of course.
The crunchy snack.
Miss Puffin's bubble breath.
And the tug of the snuggle string.
Tomorrow,
Ollie says,
I think I'm going to try the monkey bars.
Mum smiles.
You're amazing.
Have I told you how much I love you lately?
Ollie rolls his eyes.
Mum always does this.
Can I tell you again?
She whispers.
Ollie nods with a grin.
I love you more than all the stars in the night sky.
I love you more than all the grains of sand on every beach in the whole world.
And I love you more than all the blades of grass on all the soccer fields in all of the countries everywhere.
Ollie shrugs.
I'm just an otter with an invisible bubble suit and a wrestling bear,
Mum.
Mum kisses his head.
Exactly,
Ollie.
I love you exactly as you are.
And with Mini Mysterio tucked in,
His snuggle string glowing gently,
And his backpack empty of worries,
Ollie closes his eyes and whispers to himself.
My suit is zipped.
My bubble is big.
My string is strong.
Mum always comes back.
I am safe.
I am loved.
I am calm.
You did so well listening tonight,
My little legends.
Just like Ollie,
You are safe,
You are strong,
And you are never alone.
Your suit is zipped.
Your bubble is big.
And your snuggle string is strong.
And your dreams are waiting right there.
The stars twinkle quietly.
The sky sighs in its sleep.
And you,
Just like our animal friends,
Are already halfway to dreamland.
Goodnight,
My little loves.
Sweet dreams.
Sleep well.
We'll talk again tomorrow.
