Hello my little loves,
It's that time of the day,
My all-time favourite,
It's bedtime.
So let's wriggle and wiggle into your favourite sleeping position and let your body start to feel really,
Really comfortable.
Tonight we're going to visit a sleepy tree in the middle of the Australian bush,
Where a very fluffy little friend of mine is trying very hard to fall asleep.
At the very top of the tree,
Tucked into a bed made of bark and soft leaves,
Lives Coda the koala.
Coda is cuddly,
Coda is clever,
But Coda has one small problem.
His thoughts won't stop talking.
Every night when the sky turns dark and the stars peek out,
Coda's brain gets louder than a kookaburra on karaoke night.
Let's listen in.
Coda thinks,
What if I forget how to climb trees tomorrow?
What if my favourite leaf is gone?
What if I yawn so big I fall out of the tree?
Maybe your brain does this too sometimes.
It's like Coda's thoughts are all lining up to talk to him at once.
So one night Coda sat up,
He scratched his furry little butt and said,
Okay thoughts,
I see you,
But we need a bedtime system,
So line up,
Let's take turns.
And surprisingly,
They did.
Each thought wore a name tag,
Looking very serious.
First up was Barry,
Barry looked really worried,
And he said,
What if you said something weird to Kevin the kangaroo three weeks ago?
Coda nodded politely,
Thank you Barry,
But that's old news,
We can forget about that now.
Coda took a deep breath,
And gently placed Barry on a fluffy white cloud,
Floating far,
Far away.
Next came Gretchen,
I'm concerned about your blanket,
What if it's too warm,
Gretchen says.
Coda raised an eyebrow,
Thank you Gretchen,
But my blanket is perfectly warm.
Cue another deep breath.
Gretchen floated away off into the starry sky.
Then came a sweet,
Wobbly little thought,
Hi,
I'm Pip,
She whispered,
What if mum and dad forget to check on you tonight?
Coda's ears drooped a little,
That one,
It felt big,
But then he remembered,
Mum always checks on me.
She did it so quietly,
That sometimes he didn't even notice,
And dad's giant koala snore could be heard from three trees away.
Coda smiled,
Thanks Pip,
But they've got me,
I am safe here.
And with a soft,
Sleepy puff,
Coda sent Pip off on a cloud made of hugs.
Finally,
The tiniest of all of the thoughts stepped forward,
Coda,
I'm nervous Nellie,
I just wanted to check you're okay.
Coda looked at Nellie kindly and said,
Nellie,
I am okay,
I'm more than okay,
I am great,
But I am tired,
So how about you rest now too?
Nellie curled up in a cloud hammock and floated away,
Already snoring.
Now Coda felt so much lighter,
There was no more chatter,
No more clutter,
Just the soft sound of the fluttering wind,
The gentle weight of his body,
And the quiet beating of his big,
Beautiful koala heart.
Now let's help you feel like Coda,
Let's take in another deep breath,
And let's breathe it out.
Let your thoughts float like clouds in the sky,
Gently,
Slowly,
Drifting away.
Imagine your thoughts saying their names and then hopping onto their own little clouds,
And one by one,
You wave them goodbye,
You don't need to do anything,
You don't need to fix anything,
You are safe,
You are oh so loved,
And you are exactly where you want to be,
Where you need to be.
Coda curls up into his favourite sleepy shape,
He kind of looks like a fluffy donut,
And gently his eyes close,
He whispers,
Thanks thoughts,
We'll talk tomorrow.
The stars twinkle quietly,
The forest sighs in sleep,
And you,
Just like Coda,
Are already halfway to dreamland.
Goodnight little one,
Sweet dreams,
Sleep well,
We'll talk again tomorrow.
