stories

lately, i've been telling lots of stories. my family got into this habit, and now, before we go to sleep, we all lie in bed and tell stories. we take turns. first ed, then i, and sometimes even sena. she tells her own stories, which are a combination of my stories with ed 's and with stuff that happened to her during the day. sometimes she adds fantasy too.

storytelling is a great art. i learnt it from my grandmother. i'm not very good at it, but the nice thing about stories is that it doesn't matter too much. anyone can be a storyteller, i think, as long as they speak from the heart.
another grat thing about stories is that they make things come alive and make us feel connected in a way very few other things can. recently, for example, i've been telling sena stories about stanton. stanton's been dead for 2 years now, and i must admit that i haven't thought of him much being caught with daily life. i mean i feel that he's still part of me, but i just don't consciously think of him that much. but now that i'm telling stories about him, about the first day we brought him home, or the time he got sick, etc, i feel that he's alive again. i feel very close to him, and i feel that the stories themselves keep him alive in some way. what's really nice and unexpected is that sena now started talking about him as if she really knew him. she'll tell me something about him out of the blue, and she'll say that he's her dog. it just makes me feel really nice that she loves him even though she's never met him.

i also tell my daughters stories about my life in romania - things that happened as i grew up, with my friends, my grandmothers, my cousins, etc. sometimes, as i speak, the story takes over me, and i start reliving it. i don't have to make any effort to remember what happened or make the it go a certain way. it seems that all i have to do is start and then things go by themselves. the story tells itself and sena, aiyana and i just enjoy. i don't think that aiyana understands the content of the story yet. but i know that she feels comforted and safe as she listens, because as soon as we start she becomes very relaxed and falls asleep.

i know well that soothing quality of a person's voice as they tell a story. i remember it from my grandmother who always comforted us to sleep with her own stories. (i actually a wrote about her recently - i may post it sometime.)
i think my grandmother would be happy to know that some of the stories i tell sena and aiyana are ones she told my sister and i when we were young. some are from her own childhood. i can see now how amazing oral traditions must have been. not only do they keep things alive, but in the process they provide a bond between people, that i don't think can be matched by written stories or other media. when i read a book for example, or see a movie, the story itself can definitely draw me in; but to feel an actual bond with the person who wrote the story or made the movie, to feel connected w them on a personal, intimate level, that is rare.

there are lots of stories that i have, so far, kept to myself. stories that want to be told, just waiting for an open heart and a certain level of maturity.
when i grow up, that's what i want to do: tell stories.

peace