Sunday May 17, 2026 – wrote 198 words on the current manuscript to bring it to 8,393
Monday May 18, 2026 – wrote 4 words on a children’s story.
Tuesday May 19, 2026 – wrote 68 words on a children’s story
Wednesday May 20, 2026 – opened the manuscript but no words written
Thursday May 21, 2026 – wrote 349 words on a children’s story
Friday May 22, 2026 – wrote 138 words on a children’s story
Saturday May 23, 2026 – forgot about the manuscript unfortunately, but that’s only because life is very full with lots of wonderful experiences lately.
Following is a small story I wrote just for fun. I’ve written a few little stories about this character because while I’m in a season of raising babies a lot of my time goes into managing the home so they can grow up in a tidy and peaceful and joy filled environment.
I’m finding ways to come up with systems (borrowing from anyone that will share their wisdom and stories with me) that will streamline the mundane tasks so they don’t take as much energy to start and finish. Those systems have been inspiring little stories around this character.
It’s so boring but I’m finding doing the. Exact. Same. Things. Every. Day frees up my decision making power for the more important things, like connecting with my children, husband, and dogs or exploring creativity in my writing.
So now I have the mental energy to write more… Time to write on the other hand is a bit hard to come by. So I’ve thrown out all rules about when and where I must right. I write on my phone or on my computer whenever I can sneak in a few minutes. I may only get only a handful of words a day written but I am grateful for any words I can get on the paper.
So without further prattle, here is the story:
Henrietta and The First Spark
Every home has a housedragon. You may not have noticed in your house because they’re invisible you see.
They only come alive in homes that are cared for. Every time a household chore is done it feeds that little dragon…
Henrietta loved her family. The mother took such good care of her babies and her home. But something was wrong.
Henrietta was hungry and cold, nobody had lit a spark in the hearth for days. There were dirty dishes stacked on the table and counters.
The garbage can was piling up and overflowing.
Toys were strewn across the family room, some of them had even been stepped on and broken.
Henrietta left her usually warm hearth and ventured into the house. Usually she didn’t stray from the hearth unless the mother of the house was busy at chores–the little pink dragon loved watching her work. She would gulp down all the little sparks that flew up as the chores were finished.
She found the mother in her bed with the blankets pulled up over her head. Two little boys sat on top of the covers playing with their toys in one hand and munching on cookies with their other hand.
The mother had only gotten up long enough to feed them and help them in the bathroom.
Henrietta flew to the headboard and walked along its top. She stared down at the mother.
She didn’t know why the mother’s eyes were red and swollen. She didn’t know why the mother had been crying. Or why she hadn’t gotten out of bed in days.
But Henrietta knew a home needed a mother, or a father, or some other adult tending the hearth.
And Henrietta so dearly loved this mother.
Henrietta’s pink scales faded until she couldn’t be seen and like a breeze she flew around the room. She ruffled the curtains so they fell back and allowed rays of cleansing sunshine to fill the room.
Then she picked up dirty clothes and heaped them in the closet. She had to do a few loops around the room before she worked up enough speed to push the heavy closet door closed.
Then she perched on top of the bedroom door and scanned the room.
The mother was still in the bed, but she sat up and looked around the room.
She turned to her two little boys and smiled at them. They both seemed relieved to see the smile and they crawled into her lap to snuggle inside the circle of her arms.
Henrietta was tired, it took a lot of effort for her to do the housework. She returned to the cold hearth for a nap.
The next morning she woke up, and the house wasn’t so cold. Some kindling had been lain in the hearth.
She flew through the house…
Crumbs and dishes still covered the kitchen.
The trash can still overflowed.
Toys still covered the floors.
But when she reached the bedroom she found it was as tidy as it had been the day before and the mother was awake.
Not only was she awake but she’d gotten out of bed and made the bed. She was sitting atop the tidy covers and smiling at her boys while they jumped and sang on the springy mattress.
Henrietta sprawled across the headboard and watched them with joy. A spark floated towards her. She snatched it out of the air.
She returned to the hearth. The spark warmed her from her belly out to the tips of her wings.
Henrietta fell asleep, resting in the knowledge that the mother was tending the hearth once more.
The End
©️ 2026 J.B. Wagner. All Rights Reserved.