All Boxed Up

Is your family moving to a new home? How well are you and your children handling all the changes? Sometimes children need a little extra encouragement and care when things suddenly become different for them. That is what happens to Charlie when his parents prepare to move to a new home. Please read this story to see how Charlie copes with the changes, how he exercises trust in his parents, and how he makes new friends. Enjoy!

Photo of Boo by Indigo C. Beacon - Copyright 2017

Charlie wanted to play on the playground near his apartment.

“Not today,” said his mom. “It’s raining outside and you will get cold and wet.”

Charlie didn’t think getting cold and wet was a bad idea, but the look from Mom’s eyes let him know she would not let him go outside. Charlie frowned and plopped down on the sofa. He grabbed his little stuffed lion named Boo, and hugged it under his chin.

Mom sat on the floor taking books from a shelf and placing them in a box. Their home had started filling up with boxes, and those boxes started filling up with things from home. Mom, Dad, and Charlie will move into a house soon.

A few days earlier, when the boxes began piling up around the apartment, and the apartment was looking more and more empty, Charlie asked, “Why are we moving?”

“We need more space for our growing family,” Dad said.

“We also need a yard where you can play outside more often,” said Mom.

“Why are you hiding everything?” Charlie asked, pointing to the boxes.

“I guess you could say we are hiding things,” Mom said, “but we are packing it all so we can take it with us. Everything we want to take to our new home needs to be packed and ready to go.”

Now, Charlie was bored and thought about what Mom and Dad had told him earlier. He looked out the window and saw the gray sky and the water dripping off the upstairs neighbor’s balcony. Most of his things were packed in boxes too. He was afraid to take his toys out of a box because he did not want to leave them behind. What could Charlie do?

Charlie took Boo and headed toward his room. There were empty boxes in the hallway which Charlie began walking around, when suddenly he had an idea. He dragged two of those boxes into his room and tipped them on their sides. Then he flipped open the lid of another box that was packed with his toys. Charlie pulled out his one talking puppy that had buttons on its paws. He pulled out two toy cars, three trains, four plastic wild animals, and five of his favorite dinosaurs.

Charlie ran back down the hall to the kitchen where there was a drawer filled with pens and crayons. Oh, I do hope Mom didn’t pack the crayons in a box yet, Charlie thought. He opened the drawer and it was still full. Charlie smiled. He grabbed as many crayons as he could with his two little hands and ran back to his room.

Charlie looked at his cars and trains. “We sure have a lot to fix today,” he said. He held up the two cars and said, “You both have flat tires. You need to go into my garage.”

Charlie put the two cars in the opening of one of the empty boxes. Then he looked at his trains and said, “Your engines are broken. You need to go into my garage to be fixed too.”

Charlie lay on his tummy sticking his head into the box and pushing his cars and trains to the back.

Artwork courtesy of Jochabel Reese - Copyright 2017

“Clank, clank! Tat-tat! Pshhhh, pshhh!” Charlie made sounds while he worked as a mechanic in his garage. He drew pictures of tools on the inside of the box and drew parking spaces for each car and train. He drew some windows on the outside of the box and a garage door on the flap.

“That should do it,” Charlie said satisfied. While pointing to his cars and trains he said, “Now don’t leave the garage without my permission. It’s raining outside, and I don’t want to leave you behind.”

Charlie turned to his one talking puppy, four plastic wild animals, and five dinosaurs. “It’s raining outside. You will get cold and wet,” he said.

He pretended his animals walked into the second box while saying, “Into the cave you go. It will be warm and you can eat jam and butter bread.”

That sounded like a good snack to Charlie. He was starting to feel a little hungry but he did not want to leave his toys quite yet.

Charlie pressed a button on the paw of his talking puppy. “I love you, my friend.” The talking puppy said.

“I love you. And Boo too.” Charlie said, while reaching for Boo that was face down on the floor. “Boo, you should stay with these friends too.” He put Boo in the cave box. Charlie lay on his tummy again, arranging the animals and dinosaurs to be more comfortable.

“There’s not much space in here,” Charlie said. He drew pillows on the cave floor for each animal and dinosaur to sit on. He drew a television on one cave wall and a kitchen table on another wall. “It’s so full in here, there’s not much room to walk around.”

“Ouch!” Charlie had his T-Rex dinosaur say. “You’re stepping on my tail.”

“I’m sorry.” Charlie had Boo say. “My feet take up a lot of room.”

“Charlie!” Mom called. “It’s time for lunch.”

“Okay, Mom.” Charlie hollered. He backed out of his cave and hurried to the kitchen table.

Charlie was hungry and he was glad to see that his mom made his favorite jam and butter bread with sliced apples and carrots on the side. But as Charlie ate, his head dropped a little. He began to feel sad and confused.

“What’s the matter, Charlie?” Mom asked. “Why are you so glum?”

Charlie swallowed a bite of bread slowly.  Charlie began telling his mom that he did not understand why they were moving and he was a little nervous about the whole thing.

“I don’t want to lose my toys or the other things in my room,” Charlie said.

“I know this is hard for you to understand,” Mom said. “Dad and I love you very much. We would only try to do things that are best for you and for our family. We do have to move, tomorrow actually, and we need you to be brave, strong, and to trust us. Can you do that?” Mom asked while reaching across the table and holding Charlie’s hand.

Charlie nodded his head and said he would try. Then he asked, “Can Boo stay with me and not be boxed up in the morning?”

“Of course,” Mom said. “Boo can keep you company the whole day. Your dad and I will be very busy tomorrow with moving everything, so please be good and patient with us.”

“Okay, Mom,” Charlie nodded.

The next day was just as his mom said. It was busy. It was noisy. There were big men coming and going from the apartment taking boxes and furniture to a moving truck outside. Charlie stayed pretty quiet. He held Boo tightly in his arms and he tried to stay out of the way.

He watched when the big men carried out his cave box and his garage box. He could hear his toys shuffling around inside as the men passed by.

Charlie’s dad left with the big men in the truck while Charlie stayed behind with his mom. She loaded a few things in the car; a potted plant, Grandma’s antique vase, a box with the word “toilet” on it, and two suitcases packed with clothes.

“We’re ready to go, Charlie,” his mom said with a smile.

Charlie held Boo and climbed in the car, sitting by the toilet box. He put his seat belt on and looked out the window at his apartment building. His mom started the car and they drove away.

Charlie didn’t know how long they were driving. He just knew they had listened to the entire Wiggle’s CD and he asked at least twice if they were there yet. His mom pulled over and parked on the street. Charlie could see the moving truck in the driveway of a home. It was Charlie’s new home.

“We’re here!” Mom said happily. She honked the car horn to get Dad’s attention.

Charlie got out of the car and his dad rushed toward him, scooping him up in his arms and giving him a big hug.

“Charlie, it’s so good to see you,” Dad said. Then Charlie pushed Boo in Dad’s face as if giving him a kiss. “It’s good to see you too Boo!” Dad said behind Boo’s fluffy head.

“I have a surprise for you Charlie,” Dad said. “There are some special people next door I want you to meet.”

Charlie looked at the house his dad pointed at and did not know what to say.

“It’s okay son, you’ll have to trust me,” Dad said. “Will you trust me that you will be alright?”

Charlie nodded. Dad took him by the hand and they went to knock on the door. After a few seconds, the door was opened by a smiling woman. Then Charlie heard padding feet running up behind her. Two children darted up to the front door, pulling it open wider.

One child was a thin, dark haired boy just a bit taller than Charlie with a little scab from a scratch on his forehead. The second child was a little girl who was just a bit shorter than Charlie with a round angel face, and soft, wavy hair. Their eyes were both bright and excited to see who came to visit.

“Hello again,” the woman said warmly.

“Hello Mrs. Peters. Hello kids,” Dad said. “This is Charlie.”

“Hi Charlie!” the kids and Mrs. Peters said at about the same time.

“This is Brenner,” Mrs. Peters said, “and this is Penelope—”

“But we call her Penny, for short,” Brenner said, cutting his mom off.

“Brenner is excited for you to be here, Charlie. Please come in,” Mrs. Peters said.

Charlie and his dad came into the front room. Charlie leaned on his dad and pulled Boo up to his chin. Penny was also shy and stayed quietly by Mrs. Peters’ side.

“Mom said you can come over and play with us today. Will you stay and play with us, Charlie?” Brenner asked.

Mrs. Peters could tell that Charlie needed a moment to think and she told Brenner to wait for him to answer. Charlie looked up at his dad and held onto his hand tightly.

Dad said, “Charlie, I’ve already talked to Mrs. Peters and she said you can play here with Brenner and Penny while Mom and I unload the moving truck. I know you will be fine here if you want to stay and play.”

Charlie looked at the kids and he looked around the room and saw a few toys scattered on the floor. One caught his eye. It was a T-Rex dinosaur. Charlie motioned to the dinosaur and said, “I have that same T-Rex,” he paused, “but it’s all boxed up.”

“Oh, that’s okay, Charlie,” Brenner said. “When we moved here last year, all my stuff was boxed up too but then we got settled and unboxed everything. I’ve got more toys in my room. Will you please stay and play with us?”

Charlie let go of his dad’s hand and thought about staying but was still not sure.

“Mom and I will be at our new home right next to theirs. It will be alright,” Dad said.

Charlie squeezed Boo and said, “I do want to play—for a little bit.”

“Well, come on then,” Brenner said. “We’ll have fun.”

So Charlie said goodbye to his dad and he stayed to play with Brenner and Penny. Charlie had a wonderful afternoon with his new friends. While he played, his parents made sure all of Charlie’s furniture and boxes were put into his new room for him to see that evening.

“Is everything here?” Charlie asked while Mom tucked him into his bed.

“All your things are here, but they are still boxed up,” Mom said. “It’s been a long day, so we will take time to unpack more tomorrow.”

Charlie smiled and nodded that he understood. He was really tired and his eyes felt heavy with sleep. His mom kissed him on the forehead. Charlie pulled Boo up to his chin under the bed covers.

It took a few days to unpack every box, but Charlie found that all of his toys and other things were there and safe. Although he felt nervous and unsure during the move, he was now very happy to be in a new home and even happier to have Brenner and Penny as his new friends.

The end.