Wednesday 12 February 2014

Are you sitting comfortably?

I'm going to tell you a story. It is the story of The Beds That Went Out in the Snow. It is not a picture story because I still cannot get pictures to work. This may well be the end of fraise, and it distresses me beyond measure. So here is the beginning of the end. It is actually the beginning of the end of the Land of the (sometimes tearful) Strawberries anyway, but that's The Moving Story, with which this tale connects. I think all good stories do...


Once upon a time there lived a grandmother whose grandchildren lived very far away in another land. Across two seas, and three borders, and many mountains. At that time there were three grandchildren, though now there are four.


Occasionally the parents of the children would journey back to the land of their birth and stay a while. Even more occasionally the children would stay there and perhaps go to school, because Other Things were happening in the far off land. The grandmother lived in a small house, so she had sturdy bunk beds brought for the two older girls, while Adam, the first-born son, slept on a little bed next to his grandmother. These beds carried the children safely and snugly through many seasons of their fledgling lives.


All children grow, however, and bump their heads on upper bunks that are suddenly much lower, and fight with the sister who was once such a close ally. Then of course Other Things led to a return homeward for everyone, and the houses of the families were now mere counties apart, instead of countries. Shiny new furniture soon replaced the worn pine bunks.


I think they stood there quite some time, those faithful bunks, not at all sure of what they could be without children, even transient ones. But they still glowed warm and hopeful.


Now it so happened that friends of this family were a wild and chaotic lot. They were small in number, and most of them were very small in stature. They made up for this, however, in noise and passion and fuss. High their principles may have been, but their ability to realise anything was limited indeed. The calm and experienced family had oft set a clear example to these floundering folk, and quietly stepped in when a question of new beds arose.


The bunk beds arrived one dark night in Strawberry Land. 'Twas the start of a riotous adventure.


In early times a canopy of blue and stars enfolded the high bunk, and under night skies at all hours of the day great conspiracies were hatched and empires forged. Later and below, dark dens of caves were formed from thick walls of quilt and at all hours of the day midnight feasts and ocean voyages and piles of books flowed far from adult eye.


All children grow, however, and bump their heads on upper bunks that are suddenly much lower, and fight with the brother who was once such a close ally. Then of course Other Things led to a looming move, and the brothers didn't want to share a room any longer.


They stood there quite some time, those faithful bunks, not at all sure of what they could be without children, even riotous ones. But they still glowed warm and hopeful.


Now it so happened that the Strawberries saw that someone was looking for bunk beds. Having ascertained that the calm and sadly separate family no longer had a use for them, the Berries offered them to a big family with four year old twins. The bunk beds left Strawberry Land in a fluster of snow and a billow of frost, and set forth once more into the dark night.


If one day you see them glowing warm and hopeful, with stickers of Lego men at head and foot, do smooth your hand along their worn pine sides and tell them we loved them!



11 comments:

quilterliz said...

G'day Mags. What a fabulous post. You don't need pictures. Your words are enough. Take care. Liz...

Angela said...

Oh I so miss our red tubular steel bunk beds which we sold in 1995 before we left London.
I told Bob only last week that if we ever get grandchildren I am going to find those beds again!

Thistle Cove Farm said...

Mags, great story and lovely you found another home for the bunk beds. It must be the season, I just gave away a couple of beds to someone whose children were sleeping on mattresses on the floor. Mercy!

Pam said...

I don't understand why you say you can't upload photos when there are photos there. Hmm.

I found I couldn't some time ago and then my son-in-law showed me a new way. I wonder if your problem is the same as mine was? (I can't quite remember what it was now, but something to do with not being able to locate my Picasa exports.)

Kezzie said...

Awwwwwww, I loved this post! And I miss you dear Mags!!!!x

Pom Pom said...

I bet the boys are looking forward to their new beds! I love your bunk bed story!

Elderberry-Rob said...

Thats a lovely story, our mum used to get us all on her bed with our coats on back to front so we were warm and cosy and tehn we shut our eyes and pretended to be on a shipwreck out at sea, sailing through the night... hope your bunk bed has many more adventures. Betty

M.K. said...

What a precious story, Mags! I'm SO happy the bunks are continuing their faithful service to children somewhere. And, oh, I loved the "Other Things" that occurred so regularly in your story. Isn't that so? Don't quit with your dear blog. The pictures will return at some point. Some setting button, or something on blogger, of who-knows-what will fix itself, and the pictures will work again.

The dB family said...

You are a wonderful story teller. A new stage of life. I will be sad to see our bunkbeds go someday too.

Blessings!
Deborah

Lisa Richards said...

We really do have to figure out your picture problem. I seem to have problems with blogger now and then, but then I'll come back a few days later and all is well. Sometimes it seems like they're "updating" something. I upload my pictures straight from "My Pictures" on my computer. Sometimes I will upload a picture and there will be an "x" in the corner of the picture. When that happens I have to upload each picture twice and then delete the ones with the "x's". It's irritating, but I WILL get my photos on there! Hope you find a solution!

GretchenJoanna said...

Blogger is not taking care of us bloggers very well anymore. Her father Google has gone on to fancier things, and we are not important enough. I'm worried about that and hoping to switch to WordPress myself - with help, of course! But maybe, just maybe, it's not a Google/Blogger problem.
Have you researched the forums on Blogger and the Internet generally? Maybe not right now, but at least when things quiet down in your life (hahahaha) a bit, *certainly* you have a friend who could help you figure this out. You help so many people, I'm sure there is someone who could turn around and help YOU, maybe by getting her son or husband to help you.
Whatever you do, DON'T give up on your blog! We need you! We want you! Thank you for sending your word pictures our way - and until you can send pictures again, I will look forward to more stories of Strawberry Land. xxx ooo

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