Piper: Petite Pilates Princess

How Piper became the petite [inaudible] princess by Marsia Polis. Once upon a time, not very long ago in a land not very far away, there lived a little girl named Piper. Piper was the youngest in a family with a bunch of children or older brothers and sisters were fun and noisy and much, much bigger than piper. Her sisters called her doll sized. Her brothers told her she was a runt, but her mother said she was simply petite. Piper didn't mind being smaller than the other kids.

She sort of liked that she could fit places bigger kids couldn't during hide and seek, she could squeeze into the cabinet that held huge bowls, her baking cookies and cakes when all the seats were taken, she could squish in between the big people. There was always enough room for piper. Her Dad told her she was like Jello because no matter how full you were, there was always room for Jello. [inaudible] brothers and sisters were really strong. Nobody could jump higher than Vi. Everyone thought Tucker was the fastest boy they'd ever seen. Jackson was strong enough to win it. Tug of war with no one else on this team.

Lily swam for hours, never tiring, and Ben was the best at every sport he tried. Piper wasn't just petite. She also wasn't very strong. Her mother explained that when Piper was very little, the doctors had to fix her tummy and she just needed time to catch up with the other kids. Piper had a long line across her tummy where the doctors fixed it. Piper tried hard to do what her brothers and sisters could do, but when she jumped, she couldn't really get off the ground. No matter how she tried, she never seemed to run very fast.

Jackson pretended she was helping when she hung onto the other end of the tug of war rope, but her feet didn't actually touch the ground. Lily worried when Piper was in the pool because she got tired so quickly and Ben told her she would be best at something. Sunday. Ben Always said the nicest things. Piper would get mad and sad and frustrated when she was left behind because she couldn't keep up. Her mom would tell her to be patient and take a deep breath. Piper wasn't good at that either. Rome wasn't built in a day.

Piper, her mom would tell her piper had absolutely no idea what her mom was talking about, but she baked really good cookies and gave the best hugs. So Piper would nod her head as if she understood and say, I know Mama, it takes a lot of days to build a room. One afternoon before dinner, Piper's mom and dad told her they had something they needed to discuss with her. Piper had never been asked to discuss anything before. In fact, usually when her parents have things to talk about, they'd close their door and one of the older kids would be left in charge until they were done. This time, all the big kids were left on the other side of the door. Piper climbed onto her dad's favorite chair and crossed her legs.

Sometimes being petite was a pain like when your feet didn't reach the floor, but other times it was a good excuse to fold yourself into a pretzel and get comfortable. Piper's mom did all the talking. Your brothers and sisters have been invited to go to a special sleepaway camp this summer for kids who are really good at sports. Your Dad and I have been asked to go along to help with camp. You'll come and be our helper unless piper waited for her mom to finish. She couldn't imagine what the unless could be.

Maybe Piper was going to be left at home to take care of the garden or maybe they wanted her to stay and collect the papers like Tucker did when their neighbors went away. Piper's dad piped up. Honey, your aunt Kate wants to know if you'd like to spend the summer with her and your uncle will instead. Piper's mom jumped in. It's up to you, sweetheart. If you don't want to be that far away from us, I'm sure you'll have plenty of fun at camp, but aunt Kate thought you might want to spend the summer helping her. Aunt Kate was the silliest and most fun aunt. There was an uncle will that piper ride on his shoulders whenever she wanted and told the best bedtime stories. Piper popped off her chair and ran to her mother and said, yes, please, I want to go to aunt Kate's. Then she ran to her father and said, can I really dad, can I really? So it was all set.

Once school was out, Piper's mom and dad packed her up and drove her to aunt Kate and uncle will's house, their pug. Penelope greeted Piper at the door after a lot of hugs and a few tears, Piper's mom and dad were on their way and Kate rubbed her hands together and giggled and said, okay, they're gone now let's have some fun at. Kate had a smile that made you smile and she was always smiling. She had long, blonde hair and sometimes she would swoop it up on top of her head and tie it in a big not up there. Piper could stare at that. Not all day. It was like magic how it stayed there without a clipper holder. Each morning.

Piper would wake up in the guest room to Penelope snoring next to her, should climb out of the big, big bed and race down the stairs to have coffee with uncle will before he went to work. Piper's coffee was really almond milk and honey, but uncle will called it her coffee. Piper, your coffee is ready. Be careful. It's a little hot. This morning when aunt Kate came down, they would have breakfast at Kate loved breakfast and always made sure they had something yummy and hot before she and Piper left for work. Uncle will dress like other grownups for work every day, but at Kayton Piper had a different type of work outfit and Kate owned a Pilati studio. When the summer started. Piper didn't really know what that was. She had heard that word before and her mom said aunt Kate helped grownups get stronger and feel good, but Piper had no idea how on her first day at the studio, Piper got a grand tour from a lady named who worked with Aunt Kate. Tracy was very, very tall and made Piper think of wonder woman.

She had shiny black hair and a voice that was low and sounded like music. Tracy showed Piper with all the big contraptions in the studio did and made her promise she wouldn't climb on them or go near them without Tracy or aunt Kate's permission. Piper promised because the contraptions look kind of Kooky and a little bit weird. Her first week there, Piper met all the people who came to the studio at Kate said they were her Pilati students. Somehow they all knew piper would be there and everyone welcomed her and told her how happy they were to make her acquaintance. Piper liked that word and practiced it while she sat in the middle of the floor and watched aunt Kate order the other adults around.

They did exactly what she told them to do all at the same time like they were on stage and Kate walked around the room and moved one lady's leg a little to the left and adjusted a man's head a little to the right. She teased them a lot too and they laughed and griped and seemed to be having a lot of fun while pretending like they were having no fun at all. Each person who left thanked and Kate unusually hugged her goodbye. Piper thought she might have the best job ever. Bossing adults around look like a lot of fun every morning Tracy would practice plays in front of the big mirror by the end of the first week. Piper plea with her.

Sometimes they would play on their very tippy toes. Other days they would stand on one leg and play a Tracy was really good at balancing on one foot. At the end of every day, aunt Kate or Tracy would ask piper if she wanted to play for awhile and then they would help produce some of the funny things the adults had done. She might roll like a ball or pretend she was a seal or roller feet and her legs up over her head, but every day she would squeeze a ball in between her legs as hard as she could. While aunt Kate or Tracy helped her remember to breathe all the way into her tummy. It was fun, Eh, weird. In the beginning, everything was hard for piper.

Just like when she tried to jump or swim or run or play tug of war, she would wear out pretty quickly. But aunt Kate would tell her what a great job she did. And every day she seemed to be a little stronger than the day before. By the end of the first month, Piper was beginning to feel pretty powerful. She could make her body be a plank and hold herself on both hands or tipped on our side on just one.

When the adults whined about being a plank at, and Tracy would call piper, show these whiners how it's done. The adults would ooh and awe and clap for Piper at cate would tell them to stop stalling because petite piper was planking circles around them. Piper thought this was hilarious. The best part of every day was the walk home from the studio. That was when aunt Kate Penelope and Piper would stop by the park and swing on the swings and Kate would call piper, pump your legs harder and don't forget to use your core. In the beginning, Piper didn't know what her core was but she tried to pump her legs and Kate and Tracy used the word core all day long in the studio and Piper finally figured out that it was her belly and her back and all the stuff on the sides in between.

As she got stronger she could make her core very still while she pumped her legs and made herself swing faster and higher than ever before. On the weekends, Aunt Kate, uncle will, Piper and Penelope would go to the park together each week it seemed like Piper could go a little faster around the park. Uncle will would set up obstacles for her to leap over and run through. They would laugh and laugh as Penelope chased after her and did the same obstacle course. Only much goofier when they got home and Kate would get out a notebook and write all the things Piper could do that week on the phone. They would tell her mom and dad all about strong piper.

One day at the start of the third month, Tracy called Piper to come from the place she normally perched, watching to where Tracy was teaching the adults. She whispered in Piper's ear and then sat down on the floor, folded up like a pretzel. Piper looked at Tracy and shook her head. No. Tracy looked at Piper and shook her head yes. After three more times, they shook their heads yes together and Piper step to the front of the class. She was in charge now and as Piper guided them through the exercises, the class did exactly as they were told. After she finished, Tracy jumped up and clapped. The adults all laughed and clapped to Tracy proclaimed three cheers for Piper, the petite PyLadies princess. All the adults shouted Piper's name.

She felt about a million feet tall and stronger than ever. It was almost the end of Piper summer with aunt Kate and uncle will. She stood taller and ran faster and jumped higher than she could ever imagine. During the last week, a new lady came to the studio. She met with aunt Kate and private, but Piper could see.

She looked like she was nervous and a little scared and like maybe she would cry. Piper remembered what that felt like and Kate called Piper over to meet the lady. Her name was Karen and aunt Kate told Piper she had a brand new baby at home Penn. She told Karen about all the things Piper could do and how strong she was. Karen was nice and listened and smiled at Piper. Then at Kate leaned down and whispered and Piper's ear piper shrugged her shoulders and lifted her top to show Karen the line across her belly.

She looked Karen right in the eye and explained before the summer started. I couldn't do any of the things my brothers and sisters could do, but it's not because I'm petite. My mom told me I wasn't strong enough yet because of how the doctors had to fix me up when I was younger. But [inaudible] has made me so strong and now Tracy calls me piper, the petite [inaudible] princess. Karen looked at Piper with wide eyes and that it aunt Kate and back at Piper, she looked like she would cry again but not in the same way.

Then she slowly and shyly lifted her top a little bit to show piper aligned. She had across her belly and about the same spot. She told Piper that the doctors had to fix her too. She couldn't do any of the things she used to do. She asked Piper if she thought palazzos would help.

Piper smiled as big as she could and told Karen not to worry. She'd be strong and powerful again soon. And then she said what her mom always told her, Karen, you just have to have patience cause you know it took a lot of days to build a room on the last day of Piper summer with aunt Kate and uncle will, they went to the studio as usual, but uncle will took the day off work and came along. When they got there, all the adults who had spent the summer growing stronger with Piper were there. There were balloons and a cake and a big sign. Tracy had made that red. We Love Piper. The petite PyLadies.

Princess Piper barely caught her breath from all the excitement when the door opened again, and Piper's mom and dad and all her brothers and sisters came running in. They took turns squeezing piper tight and telling her how much they missed her when they were done at. Kate asked everyone to sit down and piper to come to the middle of the room. Piper stood in the center of the room and aunt Kate told her to show everyone all the things she could do. So Piper and aunt Kate and Tracy all perform the exercises and tricks.

They'd been practicing all summer, but this time, all together, when they were done, piper jumps straight up in the air higher than she ever had before. Everyone laughed and clapped. Her mom was crying and smiling the way moms do when they're super happy and proud of you. Ben scooped her up in his arms, tossed her in the air, cotter and hugged her tight piper. Squirmed loose a bit so she could look 'em right in the eye and said, see Ben, you were right. It's finally someday I think I might just be best at polarities.

And that is the story of how Piper became the petite [inaudible] princess, and they all lived happily and strongly ever after.