The other day I opened my mailbox, and what did I find but a large brown envelope. The return address was of the elementary school on the coast in North Carolina where my daughter Jenny teaches. Before I opened it, I pinched and gently shook the envelope. I had no idea of the contents.

I carefully opened it and peeked inside. A paper doll and two notes were the total contents. My daughter explained in her note that a third grade class at her school had read a book called “Flat Stanley.” They colored paper doll representations of Flat Stanley, wrote letters about why he was arriving for a visit, then mailed them to family members or friends who lived out of town.

Brad was the only child in his class who was without contacts in other towns. In his scrawly script, he asked me if Flat Stanley could live with me for a week and go everywhere with me. He asked me to keep a diary of what we did.

To get a better idea of the situation, I thought I better read the book, “Flat Stanley,” by Jeff Brown. It seems that Stanley was a regular boy until a falling bulletin board landed on him and squashed him into a two-dimensional, pancake-flat boy. What a trouper. Stanley continued life as usual having some very unusual adventures including a trip to California. When considering the expense of plane fare, Flat Stanley’s Mom simply tucked him in a big brown envelope and mailed him to California. This book is a favorite with children; however, grownups will enjoy the read because it is written with subtle humor.

Flat Stanley was my constant companion for an entire week. I kept a daily diary and took pictures wherever we went. We did the grocery shopping, and I took his picture peeking from behind the broccoli crowns. He visited my local library, and he helped pump gas at the gas station. Then came the day he went back in time. Flat Stanley had his picture taken on the barrel of a Revolutionary War cannon and also beside a cannonball stuck in the wall of an old house.

I was a little sad the day I had to say goodbye to my companion. Flat Stanley, his diary and his photograph album went back in the envelope and were on their way to the third-grader. While Flat Stanley was in residence with me, something interesting happened. As I Iooked for Flat Stanley opportunities, I began to view my routine, my neighborhood and my town through different eyes.

School will be out soon. That means family vacation time is fast approaching. With gas prices, motel accommodations and tickets to theme parks and other attractions becoming so expensive, many families are either downsizing plans or eliminating vacations this summer. Why should Flat Stanley be limited to a school project? Bringing him home for the summer has the possibilities for ongoing and memorable family fun!

For the price of a postage stamp, your family can send Flat Stanley on vacation. Check out the book from the library and get to know this likeable fellow. Your family can even download a printable Flat Stanley from the official Web site, www.flatstanley.com.

Perhaps you have a family artist-in-residence who could create Flat Lizzy or Flat Sammy mailable friend. Choose the friend or relative that is far, far away and is willing to share and document ”quality time” with the vacationing paper doll. Anticipating Flat Stanley’s return is fun. When he comes home, there is nothing to say he can’t go traveling again. You could even map his trips.

Then, of course, there is always the option of Flat Stanley in reverse. Look at your at your locality through visitors’ eyes. Take Flat Stanley on day trips or mini-vacations around town.

Check out the freebies. It is amazing the no or low cost opportunities we routinely overlook ... unless we have a guest to take touring. It takes a little parent planning, a little digging sometimes to come up with a list of opportunities. Incorporate your children’s’ suggestions, make the list and encourage the kids to plan Flat Stanley’s around-town vacation.

Flat Stanley could visit a fire station, go to a playground, ride in the basket on the way to a picnic lunch in the park. He might visit a museum, attend an outdoor concert, climb a tree or skip rocks in a creek.
Of course, the kids are participating in the activities they have planned for Flat Stanley. Part of the fun is keeping a diary of the activities and documenting with photographs and other memorabilia picked up in the course of the vacationing.

Although you may not have vacation travel plans this year, your family vacation can be a time away from the usual routine, a time to explore or relax, a time to dream and imagine, or a time, as English poet William Blake says, ”to see the world in a grain of sand.”



‹ Heidi Maness Hartwiger, a Wheeling native, is a writer, teacher and storyteller. She is the author of two books, “All Join Hands: The Forgotten Art of Playing With Children” and “A Gift of Herbs.” She is a mother of four and a grandmother of five.