The Land of Read

Once upon a time there was a mom who liked to read on Sunday afternoons. She would find her book, something like,  "Surprised by Joy" by C.S. Lewis, pick her chair, turn on the lamp, find the exact reading position and settle in.

Sunday afternoons were a thing of beauty for this mom. She loved that Sundays were quiet days, days when only few words were needed, days with some time for herself. 

Alas, on this particular foggy, warm Sunday when hair was prone to be especially curly and unruly, this mom would learn a lesson that would help remind her to never hold onto anything too tightly. She would learn that things grasped too tightly tend to squeeze right through fingers, never to be grasped again.

An intruder entered, and quickly conquered the Land of Read. In a matter of seconds, this precious land was overtaken. Goodbye reading. Goodbye quiet. Hello words and noise. Goodbye time alone. In a blink of an eye it was all gone. Gone. Would it ever return? Would this invasion last the entire day?

The intruder was a beautiful maiden but don't be fooled by her looks.  She possessed amazing, slightly diabolical and remarkable powers. It was the eyes - all in the eyes. With one look, she could conjure up green elf men who would do her bidding.

She would hypnotize and mesmerize. The green elf men lost all control and became her servants, nay her slaves.

They danced Christmas jigs and sang Christmas ditties.

Was all lost forever? Would the land of Read be restored? Would Sunday afternoon return to it's quiet, comfortable and word-free state?

The eyes. What would the eyes decide?

The decision was final. The Land of Read was to be destroyed. It was time to play catch! Green elf men would play catch and love it!

Goodbye Land of Read. Maybe we'll see you again some day.