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Welcome to Once Upon the Feeling. This is the podcast where we talk about all things growing up. The fun parts, the weird parts, the messy parts, and the magical parts too. I'm your host, Rita, and I'm so glad you're here. Are you ready? Let's dive right in. Hi friends, welcome to this week's Once Upon the Feeling. This week we are exploring some of the things that we cherish and hold really, really close to our hearts. Some of us it's a stuffed animal. For others, it's a love that we cannot sleep without. What it is for you. This week's story is about Sophie, a little girl who cherishes her magical slippers. And through losing her slippers, how she also learned something amazing about herself. Madelina is here today to read the story for us. Enjoy, and I hope you'll like the story as much as we do.

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Sophie's Slippers written by Kelly Gary, illustrated by Michaela Jean, read by Madelina Betzala. Sophie's dance slippers were tattered and torn, her painted pink toe poked right through. But oh how she loved those two worn-out dance slippers, the magical things they could do. When Sophie's dance slippers slid on her two feet, they would suddenly turn, twirl and hop. They'd sparkle and shine with such magic inside, and they danced till she told them to stop. The living room couch and the rug strewn with toys, now an acrobat's tightrope up high a once boring walk down the grocery store aisle, now a cat walk to strike my oh my Her slippers would take her to faraway places, to outer space, Venus and Mars. She'd bounce all around, nothing holding her down, as she glided and danced through the stars. When she stomped in her shoes and click clacked all around, she became a big pink dinosaur. Her shoes made her bigger and bolder and braver than Sophie was ever before. The mermaids and fish would all long for her slippers. They wished that they had a pair too. Until one day Sophie awakened to find her slippers were simply nowhere. In their place was a shiny shoe box from the store, and inside was a sparkly new pair. Sophie just stared at the perfect new shoes, and those slippers stared right back at her a lovely pink pair for sweet Sophie to wear, and yet still she felt very unsure. She wiggled her toes inside the new slippers, and none of her piggies poked through. No tatters, no tears, not a hole anywhere. But she still missed her old pair of shoes. Sophie sat slouched on the cold kitchen floor. Her eyes that once twinkled now cried. Come on, Sophie, dance, said her mother with glee. So she stood up and slowly she tried. She breathed in and out and she closed her eyes tight, but magical these shoes were not. The shoes didn't twirl, didn't hop, leap, or spin. They just stood in that very same spot. These shoes don't have magic, cried poor little Soph. My others were special, you see. Without them, I'm nothing. My magic is gone. I'm as sad as one small girl can be. My old shoes could fly me to Mars and the moon, but these keep my feet on the ground. My old shoes could take me to faraway places, but these slippers just hold me down. Her mother smiled. Her mother just smiled as she tried to explain. Oh Sophie, you've got it all wrong. Yes, there was magic, but what you can't see is that magic was you all along. Sophie looked up at her mom's grinning face. She thought, could it possibly be? That the magic was never inside of my shoes, but was actually maybe just me? So she took one more breath and she closed her eyes tight, wishing and hoping and praying. And to her surprise, the sad silence she'd heard? Now a beautiful orchestra playing. The violins led and the flutes flocked behind, as Sophie conducted their song. Piano keys froliced and drums stomped their feet as our Sophie marched proudly along. Then Sophie's feet spun and her arms flew up high. Around and around she now turned. As more magic unfolded before Sophie's eyes, she saw everything that she had learned. Now I can see, Sophie said. It's so clear. It's as easy as one, two, and three. No matter what slippers I wear on my feet, the magic is just simply me. The end.

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Sophie loved her slippers. And little did she know that the magic was within her all along. Sometimes a little bit of a treasure, a little bit of something that we absolutely lose, truly bring out the best of us. But never forget, the magic is you. For all the grown-ups, thank you so much for tuning in, and please stay tuned for our next episode of Beyond the Stories. I get to sit down with Sophie. This beautiful story is inspired by her journey as a dancer, as well as our dear friend Rebecca. Rebecca is a trainee. Um, she is becoming a marriage family therapist who is also a mom. And we explore the notion and the idea behind a transitional object and what it means for children and adults alike, really, um, and how we sit with the feeling of loss and how that translates into early childhood education and how us as grown ups can best support them. Stay tuned, take care of those hearts, and I will see you soon!