Lessons from Dolly

Quarantine looks different for everyone. Some people are binging books, some are binging tv shows, some are finally getting to those home improvement projects they’ve been putting off, some have taken up bread baking, and some are crafting like fiends. Some of us, on the other hand, are living in the space between wake up time and nap time and binging Paw Patrol and reading children’s books. It’s a different kind of beautiful. J

We are part of Dolly’s Imagination Library, and it is truly a gift. We received our newest book, The Rabbit Listened, in the mail the other day, and Andy sat on the floor reading it aloud while Robert ran around playing and not paying attention. He persevered and made it to the final page and looked up with a tear in his eye as he read the final words of the book.

I would love to be able to share a recommendation for a grown-up book, but I’m reading a lot more children’s books these days than grown-up books; and this one, like so many great children’s books, has a message worth sharing! (And, the grown-up book that I just finished was so disturbing that I just kept reading it hoping for some kind of closure that never came. I plan to read something much more light-hearted next, so stay tuned. Maybe I’ll have something for you in the near future!) 

The story begins with Taylor building an awesome, “special” structure out of blocks. He’s so proud of his creation, and then a flock of pesky birds comes out of nowhere and “things came crashing down.” Taylor is so sad, and as he sits curled up mourning the loss of his beautiful creation, a whole cast of characters come through trying to help. The chicken wants him to talk about it. The bear wants him to shout about it. The elephant wants him to remember exactly the way things were. The hyena wants to laugh about it. The ostrich wants to pretend it didn’t happen. The kangaroo wants to throw it all away. The snake wants to go and knock down someone else’s creation. But Taylor doesn’t want to do any of these things, so all of these characters leave.

As Taylor sits alone, a rabbit quietly hops in a cuddles up to Taylor, “until Taylor could feel its warm body.” The two of them sit in silence until Taylor is ready to talk and shout and remember and laugh and hide and throw everything away and ruin things for someone else. The rabbit never left Taylor’s side, “and when the time was right, the rabbit listened to Taylor’s plan to build again,” and says, “It’s going to be amazing.”

In a time when most of us don’t know whether to talk or shout or remember or laugh or hide, may we be the rabbit. May we be a calming presence to those around us in need, and may we allow others to be this for us. May we be willing to listen and not offer solutions, and may we be willing to have others listen to us without offering solutions. May we hold each other up and listen.

[If you'd like to hear the story read, the Dorchester County Library has a reading here.]