Once upon a time in a land called Faraway lived a Grammy.
The harder the Grammy tried to get to the land of Very Close
the more she failed.

She called the airlines to try to get to the land of Very Close
but the people at the airport said that they couldn’t fly
to Very Close because it was Very Close and everyone
knows that airplanes only go to Faraway.

Next, Grammy called the train station but they informed her that
all the railroad tracks went to Faraway.

Grammy was beside herself, or maybe she just needed to lose
a few pounds and only looked like she was beside herself, but she
was indeed very upset about not being able to get to the land
of Very Close.  You see, she always wanted to live in the land
of Very Close with her children and grandchildren but,
alas, she was always stuck in Faraway.

Grammy tried talking on the telephone to her children and
grandchildren but still the phone lines only went to the land of
Faraway and you can’t hug each other because you are
too faraway in the land of Faraway.

One day, Grammy decided to take a car ride to the land of
Very Close but that didn’t work either because all the interstate
highways ended up at Faraway.  They just seemed to go on
forever but not quite that far because the land of Forever
is on past the land of Faraway and there is a law that you
can only go to the land of Forever when all
of your work is done in all the other lands.

One time, Grammy even tried living in the land of Between
but she found that the land of Between was not a good place to
live at all.  In the land of Between, you are not anywhere for sure
because you are in Between.   The land of Between is located
right between the land of Worry and Indecision. Even though
nobody really wants to live in these lands, almost everyone does at
some point in their lives.  It is okay to pass through Between,
Worry, or Indecision but never, ever stay there because if you do,
you will get trapped in the quicksand in the land of Giving Up.
Giving Up is a terrible land to live in
because nobody ever wins in Giving Up.

Grammy began thinking about Faraway and she finally thought of
a plan.  It was not a perfect plan because she doesn’t
live in the Land of Perfect.  She lives in Faraway and
Faraway is not even close to Perfect.

Grammy got the idea for her plan one day when walking through
the land of Pretend.  It is always good to stop for a while when
you are walking through the land of Pretend because
wonderful things can happen there.  For you see,
you can be anywhere that you want to be in the land of Pretend.

Now, close your eyes and you can meet me in the land of Pretend
where we can be together for a little while.  I will tuck you in bed
and we’ll say our prayers.  It is very nice in the land of Pretend
but we can’t stay very long because you would miss all the
wonderful things going on around you in the land of Real.
But just for a moment now, I will brush my hand through
your pretty hair and give you one more hug before I go.

We have many more lands to travel and stories to tell
but until the next time, I love you!
Grammy

By Pamela R. Blaine
© October, 2003