And in the End There are Dreaming Pants

Oh, Little E, with your head in the clouds. ..

I've always thought of that nephew of mine (you know the one: winning smile, Very Wise Glasses), as a man with his feet on the ground. he knows what's what, does Little E. But, it turns out, he's a dreamer too.

He loves a good sleepover, for a start. Take the one he had at Granny's a couple of weeks back. I heard they spent most of the day playing taxis. Which means that Little E climbed into the driver's seat of Granny's special take-my-wheelchair-anywhere van, and Granny sat beside, in her wheelchair on the drive while they travelled. To the moon, to the Post Office, to Kathmandu, most probably to the sweet shop. And, at the end of it all, he put on his pyjamas, crawled onto his camping mattress and fell fast asleep.

We managed to wear him out the day he was with us, too.

"Dad, your Play date is here," said The (Not So) Small One, looking out of the window at the small boy clambering out of his parents car. And within minutes her father had bustled Little E into the garden to do Man Stuff. 

"Mum, you've got to come and see this," The (Not So) Small One came running back round the corner. "He's actually making him work. They're pouring sand into all the holes in the drive. But worse than that...they're wearing matching outfits. It's like something out of The Chuckle Brothers. I'm going to take a picture."

So she did.

And then they worked on, and it was time for Little E to go home, and within five minutes of his getting into the car, I got a text from his Mum. Good Job. He's fast asleep.

Not all texts are like that, though. last week there was word of A Very Bad Day. It's terrible! Teddy Pippin got left in McDonalds and he's gone. No one will sleep in our house tonight..

It was true. Teddy Pippin had vanished; and, despite everyone's very best efforts, he couldn't be found. We were all gutted. Little E tried to be brave, but he was sad, no doubt about it, and sleeping was hard. Until his auntie and his cousin on the other side came to the rescue. Teddy Pippin had come from their house in the first place, and it turned out that they had another one: loved, but outgrown, and now passed on by a very kind cousin. You rock, Molly! And so harmony was restored. sleep was back on the to-do list.

Life settled back down to normal and Little E found some time for a bit of shopping: new underpants. He slipped them on with some satisfaction, admired himself and looked up at his Mum, with a smile on his face..

"They are," he said, They are Great Dreaming Pants"

I could do with some Dreaming Pants of my own. Couldn't you?

If I had a pair, I expect they would make it to Storytelling Sunday. Thank you for the stories so far this month. Don't forget you have until next Sunday to write your story and add your link. Newcomers, old timers, everyone is very welcome!

For Little E, of course, but with a wave to another little boy I know: one with a big new bed and some new pyjamas. You sleep tight, too!