A life of adventure and love

Today, I'm linking up with Kate Motaung's Five Minute Friday. The rules: Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking.

This week's prompt: Share. 

As I stood in the bathroom doing my hair, I heard my dad telling my daughter a story.

At first I thought he was reading her a book. Soon, it became clear he was making up a story.

I didn't hear it all, only bits and pieces.

Something about a girl traveling on an airplane, I think to Europe. There were lengthy descriptions of things she saw outside her plane window.

Later there was mention of a boyfriend and true love.

I listened, envious of a grandfather willing to create stories for his granddaughter, uninhibited by the need for perfection or by concern over what she (or others who heard them) might think – two things that often prevent me from creating impromptu stories or songs, even around my 9-month old daughter.

I listened intently, suspecting we were walking on holy ground. For within this story, I think my dad was sharing his heart with his granddaughter, telling her things he might never say outside the context of a made-up, fictional story. Embedded within this story was, I think, his deepest desire for her: A life of adventure and love.