Once-Upon-a-Time

Once upon a time, long ago, long long ago… no… long long long ago, lived two dinosaurs. They had a wonderful life to themselves, since they came after the plants but before the humans. They had a land full of plants with no humans to bug them. They had clouds and rainbows and rivers and waterfalls. And they had plants. Lots of plants. Which was a good thing, because Bobby the Brontosaurus loved eating plants. He ate like this: “omm nom nom” and he even ate while he talked like this. (Add omm nom nom’s into your talking. If your kid laughs, your doing it right. Then again, if he laughs he won’t go to sleep, so you might not be doing it right afterall.) ...

Here’s two stories that worked their charm on a not-very-sleepy little boy, turning him into a sleepy one. Bep and the Giant Pumpkin: It is October, the official start of pumpkin season in our house. That means it is time to start talking about pumpkins and where we get them. So mommy, daddy, Elio and Emma got in Bep and went for a drive. They drove up up up to the top of Lausanne and then up up up to Mont sur Lausanne, then up up up more to the little self-service vegetable stand above it. Everyone went in and chose their pumpkins one by one. Emma got a little pumpkin because she needed to hold it between her feet in her maxi-cosi. Elio got a bigger pumpkin because he’s strong (Elio e forte!). Mami chose a good pumpkin for soup because she makes the best pumpkin soup. And daddy chose one to make a yummy pumpkin curry. Daddy was about to pay and go, but Elio asked, “What about Bep?” So they looked but none of the pumpkins were big enough for Bep. They went out back and found a perfect pumpkin, 1 meter across, 3.14 meters around and weighing 200 kg! They went to get Bep and asked, “can you carry it?” Bep said “beep beep vroom vroom, no problem” and drove the whole family home, each with their pumpkin on their lap (except mami, who was driving) and Bep with his pumpkin right in the middle. ...

My son now needs a bedtime story, whispered in the dark, to go to sleep. My wife and I both love good story telling. She even took a course on it once, and told a story to an audience as the final project. We go to le Nuit des Contes every year here in Lausanne, and I’ve picked up some tips from watching the (literally) professionals there. A key to oral story telling, certainly for small children, is to use a structure with repeating sounds and phrases that they can get wrapped up in. ...

I’ve been away from the web for a while because I was in Olivone, Ticino, Switzerland getting married! Thanks to friends and family who came from so far away to witness such a special day. And thanks also to our wonderful vendors, who made the day go so well. If you are thinking of putting on a wedding in Blenio, give these guys a call: Restaurant/Hotel Arcobaleno Osteria Centrale Casa Lucomagno Pasticceria Bini for wedding cakes Viva gli sposi wedding photojournalism Giramondo Travel Agency for the wedding registry Sonpalaria, the heartbeat of the Ticinese dance floor! It feels different to be married. It seems like it shouldn’t… the house is the same, we still sleep on the same sides of the bed. But it’s different. Good. And safe. And happy. And… different. ...