“Papa Rick?” my six-year-old granddaughter K.K. asked, “What part of the story am I?”
I like phrases that suddenly arrive then stick to my insides for a few days like a double-stacked peanut butter and jelly sandwich. The latest phrase was a gift from a little girl who abducted my heart six years ago and won’t give it back: Cailyn Joy, also known as K.K.
I need to learn how to celebrate small victories in the same manner as my hip-high grandchildren. I asked the three of them, all under six-years-old, if they wanted Papa Rick story. They immediately launched into dancing, screaming, attempting hi-fives (motor skills lacking in the younger two), and careening off the walls. What a silly question; of course they wanted a story by Papa Rick!
After they calmed down and sprawled out on Papa and Yaya’s bed, K.K. asked, “Papa Rick, what part of the story am I?”
Out of the mouth of babes comes a question I think we all ask: what part of the story am I?
All of us like a good storyteller, ergo, the reason for bookstores. Paul Harvey captured the nation for decades with his radio show, “The Rest Of the Story.” Stories are easy to remember because we either insert our self into the story or the story into our self.
How do you see yourself in the story of the world and what kind of story is it? Is life a tragedy? Irony? Comedy? Satire? Farce? Warfare? Romance? What section of the bookstore would your story find itself? Do you like happy endings to your stories or do you prefer they end sadly? One of the most valuable lessons I’ve ever learned is to narrate my own life’s story.
I think these are good questions to ask about our own story of life:
- Am I the victor or the victim?
- Am I winning or losing?
- Am I the protagonist or the antagonist?
- Am I the bad guy or the good guy?
- Am I the artist or am I the critic?
- Am I the narrator or do I give the copyrights to someone else?
- Am I the hero? If not, why not?
What part of the story of life are you?
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Photo was taken by my daughter-in-law, Alana McNary.