The power of stories
It was the summer of 2015. August to be exact. Brian and I packed up our six kids and flew to San Francisco, California. We played, ate SO MUCH ice cream, whale-watched, rode trolleys, drove down the coast, stopping at all the viewpoints and aquariums, and hiked through parks filled with Giant Sequoias and Redwoods. It was an amazing trip.
One day was particularly memorable.
At the end of a day of hiking, several kids needed a bathroom. Annie, Norah, and Tucker all had to go. Per usual in state parks, there was one, freestanding port-a-potty. The rest of us stayed in the car, watching the three little kids trot 10 feet to the bathroom. Annie and Norah, who were 6 and 5 years old at the time, went in together. Tucker waited. The girls came out and Tucker went in. Annie and Norah, who often schemed together, held the door closed. After a minute or so, the door pushed against their little hands, and we could see that Tucker was trying to leave. The girls didn’t budge. ( Now here the details are a little fuzzy, and I have varying accounts—was Tucker on the outside or inside of the bathroom? Some say he was inside and the girls were holding him in, others say he was on the outside and the girls were keeping him out. Either way, he was on one side, and his sisters were on the other.)
After a bit of pushing back and forth, Brian stuck his head out the window and said we needed to get going!
The girls, giggling and beaming with pride, pulled their hands back, and Tucker came flying out of the bathroom like a Tasmanian devil, swinging his arms and throwing haymakers. Seriously! I’ve never seen a kid so small get so angry. In the words of my daughter,
“Little Tucker flew out of the bathroom with grown man anger.”😂😂
It was one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen. Tucker, little two-year-old Tucker, was throwing punches like he meant business. What I love the most is that with just a little prompting…do you remember in California when Tucker and the girls went to the bathroom…EVERYONE knew precisely the story I was referring. We have laughed so hard this week, reminiscing about that vacation., and especially that moment in time.
Never underestimate the power of stories.
They connect us. They bind us together. They bring lost memories to the forefront of our minds. They can make us laugh, or cry, or laugh until we cry (those are my favorite). They can find common ground in a world of division.
Stories are powerful.
