The Magical Love Of Family: Meditative Bedtime Tale

So,

Just take a moment to allow yourself to begin to relax and as you begin to comfortably fall asleep,

I don't know whether you'll drift asleep faster to the sound of my voice or whether it'll be to the spaces between my words and as you comfortably drift asleep,

I'm just going to tell this bedtime story in the background.

And a car is traveling along a quiet motorway at night and there's a gentle fog wrapped around the motorway and the overhead beams of the street light,

Lighting the path ahead and reflecting off the car as that car continues along the motorway.

And while the car travels peacefully along this motorway,

A completely clear road,

Its headlights illuminating the road ahead.

There's a gentle sound of music coming from the radio,

The soft warmth coming from the heater in the car and the driver,

An old man,

Is just taking his grandson back home after a long day in the woods.

They've been staying at the grandparents cabin and the old man had taken his grandson out fishing on the lake in the woods by the cabin and the two of them were just out on that lake bobbing gently,

Sound of the water lapping the underside of the boat,

The oars resting just inside the boat as they bob their fishing.

With the old man showing what to do and the child really too young to understand but watching and enjoying,

Just spending time with their grandparent with the lifejacket they're wearing,

Done up really well around them but seeming oversized compared to their body,

Giving the illusion that you could probably almost bounce them in the lifejacket like a basketball,

So bulbous around them.

But they just sat in the boat,

Smiling and watching their grandad as he fished and tried to explain what to do and how to do it.

And he was just telling stories,

He'd go off on little tangents of telling stories about his fishing days and in my day he'd tell stories about fish he caught on lakes,

Fish he caught out to sea,

He'd tell stories about the calmest lakes you could ever imagine,

Where the water reflects almost like a mirror,

Where you could tilt your head and you can't tell the difference between the sky and what's above the water and the reflection and stories about clinging on to the boat tightly as it rises up and down waves as big as a house.

And the young child just smiled and seemed to just be happy to be there,

But the grandad just kept on talking,

Enjoying sharing his tales of his youth.

He would gesture the size of some of the fish that he'd caught,

He would gesture small sizes of fish his friends had caught as he laughs and sniggers to himself about his memories.

And the child just sat there,

Watching and smiling.

He spoke about catching an angler fish,

He spoke about trying to pull in a swordfish,

He spoke about hooking a monster from the deep in a lake and it escaping him because the line broke.

And this child had spent the entire weekend with the grandparents.

And after a day of fishing,

The grandad was sat at the dining room table.

The grandson holding a crayon in their hand.

And the grandad had drawn a fish on a bit of paper and the grandson was trying to draw a fish too.

And drew a very angular fish,

Making the grandad smile.

And then drawing some googly looking eyes on the fish and a mask.

And the grandad showed the child down to what they said was their secret room,

Just down a few steps from the kitchen.

And they had to pull a cord to turn the light on.

And the light flickered on and the room had a stillness to it,

A gentle silence.

And he carried the child down into this room and the room smelt of wood.

And every step was dulled by the wood and the softness of that wood.

And by the furnishings.

And there was an old,

Worn chair.

And he sat down in that old,

Worn chair,

Holding his grandson on his knee.

And he took a notebook from beside the chair.

And he spoke about how he enjoys noting down his little ideas that he has when he's fishing,

When he's walking in the woods,

When he's relaxing,

His mind wanders.

He comes up with different ideas.

He likes to come back to the cabin,

Sit down in this chair and write his different ideas down.

And he shows his grandson some of the ideas.

And again,

His grandson's really far too young to understand,

But just seems to enjoy the intimacy,

The closeness,

The interaction,

The tone of voice of the granddad.

Even if he currently doesn't really understand what the granddad is going on about.

And when it got to tea time,

The grandma called them back up to the kitchen and had laid the table.

And they sat down for some food.

And she fried up a fish in the frying pan.

And when serving it,

She'd broken up some of the fish,

Almost mashed it up with some mashed potato.

And some peas mashed in and some other veg.

And the granddad helped the grandson to eat the food by pretending that it was a train going.

Guiding the spoon into the child's mouth and having a smile on their face while doing so and opening their mouth when they want the child to open their mouth.

And they enjoy the meal,

Enjoy their time spent with their grandson.

And at the end of the meal,

The granddad says that they'll wash up and they clear the plates away.

And they start the washing up as the grandmother takes the grandson through to the main living room.

The fire crackling away gently in the fireplace.

A safety cage around the fireplace.

The warmth of the fire warming the cheeks of the grandson and the grandmother.

The cat sleeping high up in the cat tree to avoid the grasp of the grandson.

The cat enjoys strokes and tickles.

But finds that children can be a little overbearing at times,

Just grabbing at you.

And so,

When the child visits,

They climb up to the highest point and take it as their cue to nap.

Only coming down again when the coast is clear.

And as the evening continues on with the background sound of granddad washing up,

The cluttering and clanging of plates and all of the stuff being washed,

The pots,

The pans.

It starts to gently rain outside.

Initially,

Sounding like someone's throwing some small stones,

Just gently and delicately at the cabin window.

And from time to time,

A flash of light will be seen at the window.

And then sometime later,

A distant long drone of thunder rumbling away.

Almost like nature beyond the cabin is breathing in that rain.

And gradually,

The light and the rumbling get closer and closer together.

And the rumbling gradually gets louder.

And the cat jumps down from the tree.

And goes and tucks themselves up under a blanket on the sofa.

And the child holds on tighter to grandma.

And the grandma talks softly and reassuring.

And shows excitement and wonder at these sounds around them.

And this reassures the child.

It's harder for them to think it's something scary,

When their grandma is treating it as something fun.

And exciting.

And as the night carries on,

So the grandma takes the grandchild up to bed.

Settles them down in bed.

Kisses them gently on the forehead and sits beside them.

And begins to read a book.

And this bedroom has an unusual scent that the young child,

Being barely a couple of years old,

Has never experienced before.

A scent that seems to be infused in their pillow.

Helping them to just want to drift and float asleep.

Helping their eyes to want to gently close.

And as they softly breathe in that lavender scent.

So,

The grandma begins to read.

About Jerry the Giraffe,

Who used to work in a steamroller.

And every page just has a sentence and a fun picture of Jerry the Giraffe in their steamroller.

And Jerry the Giraffe enjoyed their steamroller.

Jerry would steamroller everything.

The page turns.

And Jerry was asked,

Can you help me with this road?

And he would turn up with his steamroller.

And flatten it out.

Thank you Jerry,

He would be told.

As he looked on with a smile.

And Jerry was asked,

Can you help me with this field?

I want to play a game and it needs to be flat.

And Jerry would happily steamroller over the grass.

Flattening down that field.

And looking behind at the smooth,

Flat field.

As they wave on.

And say thank you Jerry,

Before playing their game.

And Jerry would drive around,

Finding anyone who needs help with the steamroller.

And Jerry the Giraffe was asked if he would go and help.

To flatten down an old haunted house.

But he found that he couldn't quite get there.

Because being a giraffe,

As he travelled down the road.

His head and neck were too high to fit through a tunnel.

And so,

Jerry had to take a long way round.

And when Jerry got to the haunted house.

A phantom was stood at the door.

And the phantom didn't want Jerry to flatten the house.

And said he's not really scary.

He's a friendly phantom who just likes living in their home.

But Jerry enjoyed steamrolling things.

And so,

The phantom and the person who wanted the house flattened to get rid of the ghosts.

Agreed that maybe they could share the house.

But Jerry really wanted to steamroller something.

And so,

They agreed.

Jerry could steamroller their garden.

There were lumps and bumps in the garden.

They wanted to plant some plants.

So,

Jerry went into the garden and steamrolled that garden.

Making it very flat.

They then said to celebrate their new garden.

They wanted to have some toffee.

But it was too sticky and too hard for them to flatten out.

And so,

They put it on a large tray.

And Jerry put his steamroller and rolled over that toffee.

Flattening it out really,

Really thin.

And they all enjoyed some of that toffee.

And Jerry had some toffee as payment.

Before going home in his steamroller and feeling he'd done a good day's work.

And the grandchild fell comfortably asleep.

And downstairs was still the gentle sound of the grandad putting away the washing up.

And now,

The grandad was taking the grandson home.

And the grandad was in his sports car.

His grandson strapped in to a child seat in the back.

The grandson fast asleep.

The grandad hypnotically watching the way the light bounced along the car as it drove.

They carried on through this fog,

Along this clear road.

With very,

Very little traffic on either side.

And eventually,

They turned off that main road and started heading down smaller roads.

Gradually weaving their way closer and closer to home.

And once arriving at the grandson's home.

The grandad opened the door to his Lotus and stepped out.

Closed it behind him,

Went round.

And reached into the back of the car.

And took the grandson out of the car.

And went up to the front door carrying his grandson in his arm.

While also carrying a bag of his stuff.

Ringing the doorbell.

And the parents answer the door.

And the child is still gently sleeping.

And so,

The grandad whispers gently.

Saying that he's been fine all weekend.

He's had a great time.

He's been fishing.

He's been drawing.

He's been told stories.

He's been drawing and seems to have really enjoyed himself.

And the parents carefully take the grandchild.

And as they take their child,

They then take him up to bed.

Gently tuck him into bed.

And the grandad stops for a brief cup of tea before making his journey home.

And he begins to share his tales again.

Any opportunity he gets.

As the parents listen.

And eventually he finishes his tea.

And sets back off in his lotus making his journey home.

And it's a few hours drive.

And while driving,

He has music playing gently in the car.

And the heater keeping the car nice and warm.

And he continues watching the light almost hypnotically passing by.

And he thinks about the weekend with his grandson.

As he makes his journey back to that cabin.

Arriving back at the cabin.

And as it gets later,

He heads off to bed.

And then the next day.

He awakens and heads out.

He goes down to the lake as usual.

While walking along the edge of the lake.

Smelling the fresh air.

Hearing the water of the lake lapping gently on the shore.

Crunching softly through the grass along the edge of this lake.

Sounds of the rustling trees.

Singing birds.

A dragonfly flitting around.

And above the lake.

He can hear the distant sound of bells.

From the church.

From a nearby village.

Just a short walk through the woods.

He can hear the distant sound of a train passing by.

Perhaps just leaving that village.

And he goes and sits on a seat.

Near to the lake.

Where he can rest back and stretch out his legs.

Lower his hat on his head to shield his eyes.

And enjoy the warmth of the sun on his cheeks.

And he rests there for a little while.

He doesn't necessarily feel that he needs to recover from having his grandchild come and stay for a weekend.

But he does feel that he just needs that slight reset in his mind.

From being almost like a heightened version of himself while his grandson was staying.

Where now he can transition into a more sedentary mode.

Focused on a slow pace of life of peace and calm.

Just listening to nature.

The lapping of the water.

Thinking back to his own kids and how fast they grow up.

How one minute they're a baby you're holding in your arms.

And you're young and active.

The next minute,

They're arguing over every little thing.

And then they're leaving home.

And they're all grown up.

And you're not quite as fit and active as you once were.

Even though in your mind,

You still are.

And he feels that this thought is helping him to really appreciate and connect with any moments he gets with his grandson.

Even if at those moments,

His body is saying,

Go and lie down and sleep and rest.

Where he listens to his mind saying,

Play,

Have some fun.

Teach your grandchild all the wonderful things you know and have learned through your life.

And with a slightly achy body,

He stands up from that bench.

Feeling refreshed.

Feeling almost like he's taken that moment,

That time to send himself,

To separate from the person he was over the weekend,

To who he is for his wife now.

And he heads back into the cabin,

And he can smell the most beautiful scent of food his wife has been preparing.

He walks over to her in the kitchen,

Wraps his arms around her,

Kisses her on the side of the cheek,

As he holds her tight for a moment,

Tells her,

I love you.

And before she reciprocates and then swats him away and says,

I'm trying to get the food done here.

And he goes and sits down,

And watches her as she finishes preparing the food.

As if his whole world is contained in that single moment.

In that single vision.

And she can notice he's gone quiet,

He's inside his mind,

Absorbed in the moment.

Before she then goes over,

Carrying two plates of food,

They sit at the table,

Quietly enjoying their meal.

And after a little while of peace and quiet,

Organically,

Just starting a conversation,

About nothing particularly important,

Just talking back and forth,

Smiling,

So calmly,

Enjoying each other's company,

And settling down as the day goes on.

Resting on the comfortable chairs,

Having an average day,

And thinking about how nice it is,

To have the opportunity to have so many average days like this.

Thinking about how some people think a day's wasted,

When you don't do anything,

But spending time with someone you love every single day.

Even when you're not doing anything specific,

Isn't wasted time.

And as the evening sets in,

So they head out onto the porch of the cabin,

Out to a chair that gently swings,

And they sit on that chair,

Under the warmth of the evening sun,

And then that very gentle coolness begins to set in,

That encourages them,

To grab a throw and pull that up around them,

A really nice,

Fluffy,

Heavy throw,

Tucking themselves up together on that swinging seat,

That's gently rocking them,

With the encroaching coolness of the night tickling their cheeks,

And their nostrils as they breathe in and out,

While they remain warm,

Snuggled up together,

Listening to the sounds,

As they shift from the daytime birds and animal sounds,

To the sounds of life,

The night time animals,

Birds settling down,

The sounds of crickets and other sounds in the night time,

As the moonlight begins to rise over the trees,

Casting a silvery sheen across the landscape,

Catching on the damp foliage,

Reflecting and sparkling in the slight breeze,

Seeing the stars twinkling overhead the occasional shooting star go past,

Perhaps making a wish or two,

Before it starts to get later,

They know it's time now,

To settle down and fall asleep,

And so they,

Get off the chair,

Fold up that throw,

Place it down on the chair,

And they head back into the cabin,

They have a warm cosy drink,

Before heading up to bed,

And settling down together for the night,

And drifting and floating,

So peacefully,

So relaxed asleep,

Into slumberland,