The Princess and the Monster

"Daddy, tell me a story about the princess and the monster." My daughter Valeria requests this a few times a day, sometimes a dozen! One thing I have learned; there are at least a few hundred ways to tame a monster. I won't ever let the monster eat Valeria (she's the princess of course.) They usually end up eating something sweet and tasty together. Maybe there's a lesson in the stories. Maybe the lesson is for her, but I know I am benefitting. I rarely refuse her. Sometimes I take time from a ballgame or surfing the web. The story reminds me that she comes first. I know the story is her "in". She knows the story is likely to bring me to her, no matter how far apart she feels we are in that moment. The story keeps our creative juices flowing too. If I'm stumped, I'll alert her that it's her turn and she spins a tale that makes her powerful, demanding the monster get out from under the bed where he's been bumping around. Who knows? There may be a book in this for us.