“Oh Mom what a wonderful gift, thank you, this is going to be so much fun!” said Tappy after receiving his long awaited puzzle.

His buddy Matt had a puzzle just like it and Tappy was always putting together the puzzle with Matt, so he asked his Mommy to get him one of his own.
He had waited almost 3 long weeks for this day, and now Mom finally stopped by the store after work to buy Tappy his own puzzle, and brought it home to him with a smile on her face.

Tappy immediately went at it, and opened the box where all the puzzle pieces were. Matt and Tappy always had so much fun assembling this puzzle or that one, that Tappy simply couldn’t wait and opened the box right away. But, as he was quite anxious about starting, he accidentally spilled the pieces all over the floor!

“Oh boy what am I going to do now?” said Tappy as he sat down to figure this out. It was too bad it had spilled over, but it was a puzzle after all and therefore he knew that all he had to do was to find a good beginning piece.

But he found that this part was harder than he thought, “Usually it is Matt who get’s the beginning piece going.” Tappy remembered “Now what do I do.?” Tappy thought to himself. As he tried and tried to fit the pieces together, he began to get confused and then he felt very disappointed because he just could not get started as quick as when he played with Matt.

“Oh man” he said to himself “now I will never be able to get this back together again.”

Try as he might, he just could not make the beginning pieces fit!

His disappointment was making him feel sad at first. This always goes better with Matt around. Just thinking this Tappy was kind of mad now, and then he remembered something about Tapping. He remembered that anger was not a good solution because it would only make him feel worse and could stop him thinking about the puzzle too well.

So he just smiled and said to himself, “Maybe I will tap on feeling mad, instead of just sitting here feeling mad. I really don’t need to get mad, do I? I just want to solve the puzzle!”

So he began to tap on his Karate Chop point and thinking to himself.

Even though I am a bit angry that I can not get my Puzzle together, I am a good Tappy.

Even though I am disappointed that I can’t get started with out Matt, I am a good Tappy.

Even though I really want to get this puzzle together but I just can’t see where to begin, I am a good Tappy.

Then he began to notice that his feeling of anger was going away, he just didn’t feel mad anymore. He just thought Ok so I will tap on my sadness and he kept on Tapping.

“I feel so sad.”

“I feel so sad.”

“I really want to finish this before Dad gets home. He would be so proud of me.”

He noticed his sadness leaving, and then he took another look at all of the pieces that were surrounding him. He noticed that the two that were right at his feet, looked like they could fit, if he only turned one of them around.

Oh boy what joy! Just as he had thought, they did. He was all happy and really did not know how he could not have seen this before. It was all right there, at his feet.

Those two pieces was all he need to get going on his project, and in no time he was calling his Mom who was in the kitchen making supper. “Mom! Mom! Look what I did, I got the Puzzle together.” Mom walked towards the living room, where Tappy had assembled the puzzle. She was so proud of Tappy, as she hugged him, and said “Wow that was quick Tappy. Looks like I will have to get you another one!” and that made Tappy really Happy, as he thought to himself, “I can have Matt over and we can work together on a new one.”

“Thank you Mom,” Tappy said, as he made sure to leave each piece right, so that he could show it to his Dad as soon as he came home.

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It was about three days after Tappy and his friend Matt had been playing pirates in the big field behind  Tappy’s house, that Tappy heard the news about Matt moving to another city.

Matt had been his friend ever since he could remember, and he had spent many, many days playing with him. They had played jumping games in the pile of raked leaves in autumn.  They had played in the snow building great big snowmen with pipes in their mouths in winter, and they had played in Tappy’s pool splashing Tappy’s little sister in the summers.

 But now everything was going to change. Tappy was not happy at all about this situation, because he was told by his Mom that Matt’s Dad was being transferred to another City where the company that he worked for was building a new office.

Tappy was mad about this in the beginning, but in the days before Matt left, Tappy got to play with him even more because his Mom was packing.

One day Matt even got to spend the night over at Tappy’s house, and that was specially nice, because they got to stay up as long as they wanted. Time passed quickly, and the day finally came when Matt’s family did leave for the new city, driving a huge container attached to the back of their car, loaded with all of their belongings. They moved to a city that was a whole day’s drive away, and even by plane took several hours to reach.

Tappy now knew for real that Matt was gone, and since school started soon, he knew he would have to make new friends. “Nobody is as nice as my friend Matt was” Tappy told his Mom. She told him “You will be OK, there are a lot of new children in your class this year.”

 But Tappy did not want to hear this at all because Matt had been his only friend and his best friend and he really missed Matt.

Several days had passed since Matt left, and Tappy was in no mood to make new friends. Even little Lizzy who had tried to talk to him and said  “Hi Tappy do you want to play with us?” was met with Tappys sad eyes.

Over time he even started growing grumpy and all kids were actually staying away from him. This in turn made Tappy a little bit sad. He thought to himself “I was right.  No one is as nice as Matt is.”

During recess, Tappy sat alone and did not even smile. Even little Lizzy stayed away from him.

As Tappy was picked up one day by his Mom, he actually started to cry. “I have no friends” he said, and his mom looked at him, lovingly smiling as she knew just what to do.

As soon as they reached their house, she sat Tappy down, and told him, “Tappy, you are having a really bad feeling, and you actually have the possibility to do something about it.” Tappy looked up at her and saw a twinkle in her eye.
“You are right, I’m being really grumpy” he told his Mom. “You always tell me that nobody likes to be with someone in a grumpy mood, but I feel so sad and alone without Matt.”
His Mom replied to him as she left to go to the kitchen, ”My dear Tappy, only you can really do something about that.”

So then Tappy remembered who he really was, and smiled really big.  He realized that his Mom was right. It served no one for him to be grumpy. So he began doing what he knew to do best.

Tapping his Karate Chop point, he said:

“Even though I feel so alone, I am still a good Tappy”

“Even though I feel so sad that Matt is gone, I am still a good Tappy”

“Even though I feel so sad that Matt had to leave, its ok to make new friends.”

He then started tapping on each one of his Tapping Buttons, saying.

“I feel so alone,”

“I feel so alone”

As he did this for two rounds, he noticed that he was feeling a bit better, as if it was OK to be Matt’s friend, and also make new ones. So he tapped saying,

“I feel sad missing Matt”

“I feel sad missing Matt”

When he finished two rounds of tapping, he started smiling because he realized what a Grumpy Tappy he had been. He remembered little Lizzy’s look of disappointment when he told her to go away.  That, made him realize that he had probably hurt her feelings with his grumpiness. He knew he had to talk to her tomorrow at school and ask her to forgive him for his bad mood.

As soon as he had thought this, his Mom entered the room and was holding a hot chocolate for him. This made him smile all the more, and he said, ”Thank you for reminding me to Tap Mom, I now have to talk to Lizzy, because she was kind to me and I was not”
“You do that” said Tappy’s mom, and smiled because she knew Tappy had realized that being a grumpy bear was not good.

As soon as she had thought that, the phone rang, and it was Matt wanting to talk to Tappy.

Oh boy!  Was Tappy ever happy to hear his friend.  Matt had so much to tell him and much to Tappy’s amazement he told him about all these friends he had made and that when Tappy would visit, he could not wait to have him meet his new friends and show him how nice they were. Tappy smiled, and talked a while more. When he hung up the phone, he looked at his Mom and said “Thank you”

The next day at school was very different, he talked to Lizzy and she was happy to see him not grumpy any more. Tappy joined the other kids at a Jumping Rope game and laughed because he now knew two more things in his life.
One was that it was ok to have more friends, and two was that nobody likes to be a friend of a Grumpy Bear

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TappyBear was all happy and full of joy when his mom picked him up from school. Tappy was always a fun loving bear, but his Mom could not help and ask what he was so happy about today.

“Oh Mom!” Tappy said, his voice filled with excitement. “Please! Can I go to visit my friend Jimmy tomorrow? He just got a train set for his Birthday, just like I have, and we thought that we could put the trains together and make an even longer train”.

“I don’t see why not dear Tappy, just let me call his Mom when we get home to make sure it’s ok with her, you know that I don’t like to impose.” his Mom answered.

As you can imagine, Tappy was very exited just thinking about the fun days ahead!

Two years ago he and his friend Matt had the most wonderful Christmas presents of all. They both got similar train sets, and they took every opportunity to link them up and have a combined set that was double the length and it actually made it all around Tappys hallway. That was fun and they spent hours pretending to stop the train at a station and loading and unloading passengers and all sorts of important cargo.

One day they were even nice enough to allow Matt’s little sister to use one of her dolls as a Very Important Passenger. They spent hours of fun making all sorts of tunnels with the pillows from the living room, as well as dangerous bridges at Matt’s house with his Dad’s heavy encyclopedias.

Oh, what fun they used to have, and now his new friend Jimmy had gotten a similar train, and Tappy spent all day with him at school planning and designing the tunnels and bridges they would build.

When they got home, Tappy’s Mom called to ask if it was OK for Tappy and Jimmy to get together to play. But at Jimmy’s family they already had plans for that afternoon, so the play date was arranged for the following day. Tappy could come over and bring his train set as well.

Tappy was not really happy about the news of this delay because he was eager for fun with Jimmy, and he really wanted to get together with him today. His Mom reminded him that it was just as well, as he had his train set in a box and he needed to spend the afternoon making sure it was still all there.

“Good idea Mom” said Tappy and although sad, he ran off to find the box.

Once in his room, Tappy quickly found the train set under his bed and took all of the pieces out to make sure that it was all still there. He carefully assembled the whole train in a row, hooking each wagon up to the next one and he started pulling on the line for the locomotive.

That was when he noticed that one of the wagons was wobbling. “Oh boy what now?” he thought to himself as he walked back to verify that all was OK. The last wagon actually had the wheel fallen off Of it As you can imagine, it’s not good for a train to have one wagon with a wheel missing!

Tappy picked up the wagon to look at it, and thought “Oh bummer, how am I going to get this wheel back on.?”

At first sight it was a fairly simple task, all he had to do was to slide the wheel back on and the mission would be accomplished. As he was not in a good mood because he was sad that he couldn’t be with Jimmy today, he thought “Great! Just what I needed, my train is broke on top of it all!”

So he sat down and with a frustrated sigh tried to get the wheel back on. For some reason it was not as simple as Tappy had imagined, and that made matters even worse. Now he was getting frustrated! He tried once and then he tried again, only to have the wheel fall off whenever he set it down and rolled it.

Soon Tappy was actually getting mad not being able to be with Jimmy, and now him not being able to place the wheel back tightly. Just as he was about to toss that wagon in the corner and give up in anger and frustration he called out for his Mom to come and help.

Tappy’s Mom was on the phone at that moment and couldn’t hear Tappy, and that in turn made Tappy feel even worse. “No one is here to help me!” he thought to himself.
And Tappy all of a sudden felt a lot of sadness.

Just as he let his head hang with a deep sigh, he remembered that he could actually do something about it. He was feeling Very Mad, and that is a bad feeling to have and to feel.

But then Tappy actually smiled and said to himself,. “I can actually do something about this.” and he started to do what Tappy knew how to do best.

Tapping his Karate Chop point he said:

“Even though I am SAD that I could not be with Jimmy today, I am a good Tappy.”

“Even though I am MAD that the wheel fell of the wagon, I am still a good Tappy.”

“Even though I am SO MAD that I cant get the wheel back on,. I am a good Tappy.”

Then he began to tap on each one of his tapping buttons and said.
“I am so MAD!”
“I am just SO mad!”
“I am so upset!”

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The coloring pages and story are in a .pdf file that requires ADOBE READER be installed on your computer to read it. If you do not have Adobe Reader installed, visit www.adobe.com to download it now.Once you have opened the e-book in Adobe Reader, save it to your computer. Go to FILE, click on SAVE, then CHOOSE Desktop. If you want it to work, MAKE SURE TO SAVE IT! If you have any problems with this please email us at:  till.schilling@tappybear.com

On a warm and beautiful Autumn afternoon, Tappy and his family were visiting his grandparents at the old farm. Tappy was very much looking forward to seeing his cousins whom he had not been with since the winter holidays last year.

The drive to the Farm did not take as long as he had remembered, as he was full of anticipation for all that was going to happen today. He remembered the farm well, and knew that there were many trees to climb on, as well as a large pile of sand nearby. Tappy was specially looking forward to this sand pile, as he had brought his special toy car to drive through a tunnel that he was going to carve.

When they got there, his grandparents were sitting on the porch, in their rockers waving at everyone and welcoming them into their homes. This was generally the part that Tappy did not like so much because Grandpa always had such very big hands that when he stroked Tappy’s head, it seemed to Tappy like a soft beating. For some reason though, after hugging his grandmother, it did not feel rough at all, and Grandpa said to Tappy, “Oh Boy have you grown Tappy! ” Words that Tappy took as a compliment, as he wanted to be a Big Bear like his Dad so badly.

“Come on in!” said his Grandmother. “I think you’ve arrived just in time for some cake and cookies that I have prepared”. Those words were music to Tappy’s ears, as he really liked his grandmother’s cookies. It was also a reminder to hurry up and go wash his hands, so that he could sit at the table as quickly as possible.

As he was returning to the table, he heard his Grandmother say, “I don’t think that Uncle Fred and his family are going to make it today, because they have had an emergency in the family.”

That meant his cousins wouldn’t be coming, and hearing this made Tappy feel very sad, as he looked out the window into the garden. He had made so many plans to play with his cousins!

But it was the smell of the cookies, as well as the cake, that made him realize that he was really very hungry and that he should probably go and sit down at the dining table next to his Grandfather, where he always liked to sit. It had been such a long time since he had seen his Grandparents and he was still very happy to be with them and enjoy their company.

Then, after the eating was done and his Mom and Dad had gone to sit in the living room, Tappy decided to go outside. Last time he was here there was still snow on the ground and he had built a snowman in the middle of the garden together with his Dad.

Today he was supposed to be here with his cousins, and when he thought of that it made him feel sad all over again. As he walked around, thinking about how much fun he could have had, he saw that one of the trees actually had apples on it, and that made him decide to try to get one.

Tappy wanted the very best apple he could find. He thought to himself, “If I can get this one, I will share it with my parents and they will be so proud of me.”

So he looked up at the tree and immediately saw the special apple that he wanted to get. It was so red and delicious-looking, but it was a bit high up in the tree, too high for Tappy to reach easily. Tappy thought to himself “There it is; the grand prize! The best of the bunch! It will be mine!” And so he tried his best to reach it.

At first he just reached, then he stretched, then he began to stand on his tiptoes. But then, when he was still unable to reach it, he decided to jump for it. He jumped and jumped, but no matter how hard he tried he was not able to reach it.

“Oh boy” thought Tappy; just my luck today. First, I am all alone here without my cousins. Then, I see an apple I like and I can’t reach it to pick it off the tree; not fair!”

So he sat by the tree and felt very, very angry. “I was really looking forward to having fun today.” He thought “and now there’s this apple that I can’t reach no matter how hard I try. Nothing is right anymore. I am really upset.”

It was then, that he remembered who he was, and that he could do something about it.

He got up, and immediately started tapping on his Karate Chop point.
”Even though I am so mad, I am a good Tappy”
“Even though I am so sad, I am a good Tappy”
“Even though I am so disappointed, I am a good Tappy.”

Then he began tapping on each of his tapping points and saying out loud,
“I am so Mad”
“I am so Sad”
“I am so Alone”
“No one in the world wants to help me”

As he tapped along, he started noticing how he was feeling so much better and even thought, “I really don’t need that apple. I will find another one.” So he began walking about with a much improved spirit.
It was not until he had walked to the other side of the tree, that he saw just what he had needed all along; a step ladder. Oh how happy little TappyBear was! He now had solved his problem of how to reach the wonderful and delicious apple that was waiting for him. All he had to do was to pick up the ladder and walk it on over and set it up right under the apple of his choice, and this is exactly what he did.

Oh boy was Tappy a happy Bear as he was eating his apple. He even ran into the house to ask if anyone there wanted to share this apple with him. Since everyone had just eaten Grandmothers cake, the all looked at Tappy smiling, and let him have his apple all by himself.

“Oh what a delicious Apple!” Tappy smiled at himself. To think he had actually almost gotten mad at the apple. He would have missed getting it at all!

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Spring is just around the corner and with that comes Tappy’s camping trip with his Scout group. Because this year Tappy and his friends are older, the Scout leader thought it would be possible to actually teach the whole troop a little bit more about nature by going camping for 2 nights.

Tappy really enjoys his Scout troop, because they learn so much about everything, and he really can not wait for the moment when he will earn the right to carry his own pocket knife. The Scout leader is so impressive when he takes out his pocket knife to cut a Sassafras branch, or sharpen a stick to roast hot dogs on it. “Some day..” Tappy thinks to himself, whenever he thinks about his Scout troop.

The day to go camping finally arrives and Tappy is all excited about being with his friends. Although they are not going far, they will have to sleep in tents and in sleeping bags. This is a big step, because in previous years they always camped in Peter’s large back yard and Peter’s house was always in sight. This time around Tappy and his troop will gather up in the van and drive out to Freddy’s farm.

Freddy’s family only lives about 15 minutes away, but his farm has some nice woods, and the Scout leader has chosen a really nice secluded camping place for the troop.

When Tappy’s Mom picks Tappy up at school that Friday, Tappy is all exited, and as he sits in the car he asks his mom “Have you remembered to pack my favorite pillow into my back pack?” Smiling back at Tappy she answers, “Now hold on Tappy, how about a kind hello first? Sounds to me that you are already camping in your mind and not here in the car with me?” Tappy looks back at her and says, “Hello Mom, did you remember my pillow?” “Yes my dear Tappy, I did remember your pillow, I also made sure that your flashlight has new batteries in it.” Tappy’s Mom responded. This made Tappy smile; because he was so exited and thinking about so many small details that he knew he was bound to forget something.

As Tappy and his Mom arrived at the Scout meeting place, they saw that already plenty of kids were there. This time around, the troop was not complete, as some of the parents did not want their kids gone for 2 whole days. Tappy knew that this was a big step for him, as he had already earned several recognitions in his troop, and this camping trip would set him apart from most of the other kids. There was so much excitement, and after kissing his mom good by Tappy found himself in the van sitting next to Peter.

The trip was quick and they arrived at Freddy’s parent’s farm. The van was parked by the shed, and every scout had to carry their own backpack and some of the supplies. Much to Tappy’s surprise they walked for quite a long time into the woods, only to come to a clearing, where two big tents were already set up. All of the kids quickly claimed a sleeping spot and laid out their sleeping bags.

The Scout leader blew his whistle and the whole troop gathered around him. “Tonight we will make a fire.” He said. “For that, we need some wood from the forest. Can you gather some small branches? ” All of the kids immediately ran into the forest and started picking up as many branches as they could carry. All of this effort took quite some time and the Scout leader made sure to prepare the ring of fire adequately. He had set some stones in a circle and set up some of the branches that Tappy and his friends had brought. Time passed and it quickly got dark. The Scout leader started the fire and opened up the cooler. Tonight was “Hot Dog on a Stick Night.”

After the troop had eaten and the Scout leader had told all of them what they were going to do tomorrow, they all sat around the fire and just listened.

They all began hearing new noises, strange noises, and since it was so dark all around them, Tappy began to feel a bit scared. At first he would not admit it, because he wanted to be brave, but as he noticed the Fred and Peter were not feeling really brave either, he shared his feelings about feeling afraid. Everyone quickly agreed, as no one was in the mood to make fun of the other. They all suddenly started to feel not so sure about this camping idea. They could not share this feeling with the Scout leader, because they did not know how he was going to react.

Tappy quickly remembered that “afraid” is a negative feeling, and that he could do something about it. “Hey Guys.” He said to his friends. “We can do something about this. Follow me and do what I do.”

So he started Tapping his Karate Chop point and said:

“Even though I am afraid about sitting here in the dark, I am a good scout”
“Even though I am scared about the noises that I hear, I am a good scout”
“Even though I am SO Scared that my bones are rattling, I really am a good scout.”

Then he began to tap on each one of his tapping buttons and said.

“I am so Scared!”
“I am just SO Scared!”
“I am so Afraid!”

As he did this, he noticed himself calming down and actually smiling, he even noticed Fred smiling a bit more, and then they heard a noise. “What is that” asked Peter, still a little bit nervous. “That is just the wind rattling the leaves,” the other ones now much less afraid answered. They all started laughing about the fact that they were so afraid of leaves.

When the Scout leader came back, he saw his whole troop laughing while sitting around the fire. “What a great group this is” he thought to himself.

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Tappy was being picked up by his mom at school. As he sat in the car, his Mom saw that he was quite sad, and after greeting him she asked, “What is wrong with you dear Tappy? Did you get a bad grade or did something cause trouble at school?”

Tappy looked up and said “No Mom, it is just that I am not looking forward to this weekend because all of my friends are traveling, and I will have no one to play with.”

“Oh Tappy.” answered his Mom, “You have plenty to do around the house, your room is full of toys and there is a Puzzle that Uncle Joe gave you that we never finished; there is plenty to do.”

Tappy thought about it, but just could not get exited about being alone and all by himself. His thoughts wandered to this new kid that had moved into the neighborhood. He was not from around here; in fact he was from a different country. Tappy had not really met him yet, but was told by his friends that he was no good, because he looked different than they did. So he sighed again. All he could think of is how alone he would be and that he really would like to use his toys with one of his friends, as he always did when he met with Mat and sometimes Josh.

As soon as they arrived at Tappy’s house, Tappy went to his room and his thoughts were just getting sadder and sadder. He could not get motivated to do anything, and he also knew that it would not help to ask his Mom, because she would just tell him to do the puzzle. Doing a puzzle was fun, but not alone. Tappy’s Mom knew how Tappy was feeling, so she went ahead and told him to get out his scooter and play on the sidewalk for a little while. Tappy agreed to do this, although not very enthusiastically.

Tappy went to the garage and took the scooter out. He actually liked to go up and down the sidewalk with it, and so he lightened up a bit. As soon as he felt the breeze on his cheeks, he knew he was feeling better, although he missed not being able to race with Josh as he had so often done.

As he came to the end of the sidewalk, he saw that the new kid lived only 7 houses away from him. He was outside too, and playing. “Oh, boy,” Tappy allowed himself to smile. “He sure lives close.” But then he remembered what his friends said, so he turned around and scooted on home.

When he got to his house he actually felt really bad. He thought to himself, “I wanted to play with a friend, and here is this kid, and yet I don’t want to be with him, because I was told he is different, why do I feel so bad?”

As he sat down on the couch, really feeling quite miserable, his mom came into the living room and asked “Tappy dear, why aren’t you outside? I thought you would stay out longer than that.”

Tappy replied, “Mom, the guys at school say that the new kid is different just because he is from another country, I saw him, he was outside playing and he lives just a few houses over. I can’t play with him.”

Tappy’s Mother smiled and sat next to Tappy. She asked, “Is it sadness that you are feeling now?”

“Yes.” Tappy replied. “Because if he was not different, I would have someone to play with right now”

“Ahh, I see,” said his Mom, “how about this?” And she began tapping with him.

“Even though I am sad, because I would really like to play with this new kid, I am a good Tappy“
“Even though I am sad, because I have no one to play with, I am a really good Tappy“
“Even though I am listening to my friends, who haven’t met the new kid and call him different, I can make up my own mind.“

And they tapped together on all the tapping points

“Sadness of being alone”
“Sadness of being alone“

Before he quite finished the last tapping, TappyBear jumped up and asked his Mom if he could go on over and greet the new kid.

“Yes, Tappy, you can,” said his mom, while she smiled. “One question Tappy; what made you change your mind?”

“Well,” Tappy answered, “How can Josh and Matt say he is different if they haven’t even met him yet? And thank you for tapping with me Mom, I don’t feel sad at all right now.” And with those words Tappy ran off to visit his neighbor.

It was only a few minutes later that Tappy and Jose entered the house, and Tappy asked his Mom if he and Jose could play in the living room with the train set.

Tappy’s Mom was delighted and came out to greet Jose. She saw how Tappy was so happy and sharing his toys with his new-found friend. “Things are not always the way they say,” she thought to herself.

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The coloring pages and story are in a .pdf file that requires ADOBE READER be installed on your computer to read it. If you do not have Adobe Reader installed, visit www.adobe.com to download it now.Once you have opened the e-book in Adobe Reader, save it to your computer. Go to FILE, click on SAVE, then CHOOSE Desktop. If you want it to work, MAKE SURE TO SAVE IT! If you have any problems with this please email us at:  till.schilling@tappybear.com

Spring is just around the corner and with that comes Tappy’s camping trip with his Scout group. Because this year Tappy and his friends are older, the Scout leader thought it would be possible to actually teach the whole troop a little bit more about nature by going camping for 2 nights

Finally the so long awaited trip was about to begin. Tappy had barely been able to sleep the night before. The event was going to be really great.  He would be together with the family of his uncle and they were all going to spend a few days at a lake in the Mountains.

Tappy knew he was going to see a lot of exciting things.  Hiking and swimming were just a few of the events he was looking forward to. His cousin was always a daredevil and Tappy did his very best to keep up.  He was clear on one thing though, this year he was going to show him that he was not scared of anything.

As Tappy helped his Mom pack his backpack he made sure to include the magnifying glass that Grandpa had given him for Christmas as well as his hiking boots and swimming trunks. Tappy was really exited and told his Mom, “Mom, this is going to be great, because Jake made fun of me last year because I did not know how to swim“

“Yes” answered Tappy’s mom “you know how to swim well after the classes you took at the pool, I am so proud of you.“
 ”Wow this is going to be so much fun!”” Tappy sang while he skipped through the room and imagined himself throwing and skipping stones on the lake.
 
Tappy’s Dad had packed the car well, checked the tire pressure and filled up the gas, because it was a long ride ahead. One of Tappy’s favorite activities was the fact that his Mom read to him on the rides that took a long time. He had chosen a special book this time for this trip. Nelson and the Sea Turtle was the title of the book, and this alone would be a great treat.

 Tappy loved it when his mom read to him; it made the trip go so much faster. This was a book filled with suspense, as Nelson helped the poor sea turtle to overcome the dangers of the ocean. After stopping for a quick bite to eat, Tappy fell asleep and woke up once they got there.

Tappy’s Uncle was already waving at them when they arrived. What a great feeling! Jake was in the back yard setting up a tent and everyone was getting busy settling in to the cabin that they had rented.

The next morning after a good breakfast Tappy and Jake decided to go to the lake and see if the water was warm enough to swim in.   But as Tappy got to the lake, he realized that the water was a bit darker than he was used to and he noticed himself getting a little bit scared. He couldn’t show this to Jake, as Jake would be out to make Tappy feel bad if he knew that Tappy was not comfortable with swimming in the lake.

Tappy had learned how to swim, and he knew to do so well. It was the darker waters that made him uncomfortable, because in the pool you could see to the bottom.

Jake said “Hey Tappy, let’s go and get our swimming trunks and jump in!“

This made Tappy even more nervous, because he started remembering the Turtle and the dangers that were in the water.

 ”Sure” said Tappy uncertainly, “let’s go!” 

Now with his Trunks on, Tappy approached the lake again, but he felt a bit nervous. “What shall I do?” He thought. So he decided to get the brand new floating hoop that his Uncle had bought him and see how he felt about the lake then.

Jake was already in the water, and now he was starting to laugh at Tappy. But when he saw that Tappy went into the water, he stopped and began to play.

Still Tappy was not happy and felt the water with his toe, he was really scared now. So he decided to get out of the water and tell Jake that he was going to be right back.

Tappy ran to his mom and asked her, “Mom you need to help me.  I don’t feel safe in the Lake, a pool is different.   I’m afraid that Jake is going to make fun of me.”

 ”Sure” said Tappy’s Mom and embraced him lovingly.  So they started to Tap.
Tappy’s Mom tapped with him. They started tapping on his Karate Chop point.

”Even though I’m a bit afraid of the lake, I am a good Tappy”

“Even though I can’t see to the bottom of the lake, I am a good Tappy”

“Even though I want to show Jake that I am brave but I feel afraid of the lake, I am a good Tappy.”

Then he began tapping on each of his tapping points and saying out loud,
“I’m a bit scared“

“I’m worried about the dark bottom.” 

“Jake will make fun of me“

As he tapped along, he started noticing that he was feeling a bit better. He thought, “Well, everyone swims in that lake, and everyone has fun, it must not be as dangerous as I think.“

So he hugged his Mom, and began walking out to the lake with a much improved spirit.
Once he got there Jake was already having fun with some other kids from around the neighborhood, and Tappy joined them with a big smile, jumping into the lake, and that is where he spent most of the rest of the day.

Oh what fun!!

Would you like to color-in the pictures for this story?

Download them here. TappyBear – Swimming Can Be Scary

The coloring pages and story are in a .pdf file that requires ADOBE READER be installed on your computer to read it. If you do not have Adobe Reader installed, visit www.adobe.com to download it now.Once you have opened the e-book in Adobe Reader, save it to your computer. Go to FILE, click on SAVE, then CHOOSE Desktop. If you want it to work, MAKE SURE TO SAVE IT! If you have any problems with this please email us at:  till.schilling@tappybear.com

“Tappy, Jake!!” Mom stood on the porch and called.

Finally the so long awaited trip was about to begin. Tappy had barely been able to sleep the night before. The event was going to be really great. He would be together with the family of his uncle and they were all going to spend a few days at a lake in the Mountains.

Tappy and his cousin Jake heard her voice in the distance. They were playing on the shore of the big lake, skipping stones on the water.

They heard a call, and stopped to listen closely. When they heard it was Tappy’s Mom, they started running, as both were thinking the same thing, ‘She might have an ice cream for them!’

Once they took the turn, in front of the cabin, they saw that it was not as they had imagined. Although disapointed, what Mom held in her hands spiked their curiosity. “Look what I found!” Mom said, as she held up a green long bag.

“What is it, Mom?” Tappy asked, not knowing what to expect.

“It’s a tent!” Jake shouted. “A tent! WOW! Can we go camping? Oh please, please?”” Tappy’s Mom smiled at them. “Yes, you can, that is what I was going to ask you. Do you want to camp in the garden tonight?“”

Jake couldn’t stop jumping up and down, and Tappy was all excited too. This was better than ice cream. Wow, camping, that would be really fun!

After the tent was set up with a little bit of help from Tappy’s Dad and Uncle, they went off to the lake again to go swimming. There was still a lot of time before the night, and they decided to spend this time doing what they loved most; swimming.

Later on that afternoon, Tappy and Jake laid in front of their little tent as they were drying up in the sun. Suddenly, Jake jumped up and caught something in his hands. He put it in an empty jar he had brought, and he came jolting back to Tappy to show what he had: A beautiful coloured, huge shiny beetle. Tappy tried not to scream, he bit his lip and said in a small voice: “Eh, Nice”.

Jake looked at him. He asked “You’re not afraid, are you?” “Nah.” Tappy mumbled, as he carefully got up and started backing away. Jake noticed it and put the beetle very close to Tappy’s face.

Tappy jumped back and while running towards the house, he called over his shoulder. “I just have to go to the bathroom, I’ll be right back!”!”

As Tappy sat quietly in a corner near the toilet, he sighed. Jake had done it again, and he had been a wimpy bear again…

He tasted salty tears on his upper lip. He was not going to cry, not now. Jake was probably coming to find him, together with the beetle… He shouldn’t think of Jake galloping up to him now, with some giant bug in his hands. He was shivering at the thought of it. He thought of the giant bugs Jake was surely now catching to tease him…

Suddenly a different thought came to his mind. How could it be that he, Tappy, was so scared of beetles, while Jake adored them?

Tappy thought of the song Mom would sing for him when he was afraid of something. It went like this:

Tap along with Tappy
Tap your troubles away
Tap along with Tappy
Tap in the good today…

Tap Tap Tap Tap, Tap Tap Tap….

As he was humming the Tappy song, he started to feel a bit better. He got up on his feet, and while he tapped his tapping buttons, he invented a little dance.

He envisioned the Bugs, and tried to remember what about them made him feel so scared. So, he began his tapping routine.

“Even though I am scared of Jakes bug, I am a good Tappy.”
“Even though I am not sure about bugs, they scare me, I am a good Tappy.!”
“Even though I am a scared, I am a good Tappy.“

And, he began Tapping repeating:

“This fear of Bugs,.. This fear of Bugs,..“

When he was finished, he saw the bugs a little differently, not as scarey anymore. So he kept on humming his song.

Tap along with Tappy
Tap in the good today.

He was actually having real fun as Jake arrived; surely with a jar with a bug in it.

Tappy looked at the jar, and saw that Jake had caught another beetle. But now he was not terribly scared! Not at all! He actually took time to see how pretty the beetle was!

He asked Jake if he could hold the jar for a bit. Jake looked puzzled, but gave him the jar. Tappy looked at the beetle, and said:

“He is beautiful, Jake! Shall we go out and catch some more beetles together?“

Jake thumped Tappy on his arm with a big smile on his face, because in the end, playing with Tappy is much more fun than teasing him!

So, they ran out and started catching lightning bugs to have some light in the tent that night.

What a fun night this would be.

Would you like to color-in the pictures for this story?

Download them here. Tappy_and_the_Beetles

The coloring pages and story are in a .pdf file that requires ADOBE READER be installed on your computer to read it. If you do not have Adobe Reader installed, visit www.adobe.com to download it now.Once you have opened the e-book in Adobe Reader, save it to your computer. Go to FILE, click on SAVE, then CHOOSE Desktop. If you want it to work, MAKE SURE TO SAVE IT! If you have any problems with this please email us at:  till.schilling@tappybear.com

Llevaba unos días pensando en escribir este artículo, pero algo me impedía empezar. Tenía en la cabeza lo que tenía que contar; pero algo me impedía empezar.

Hoy Deborah me contó que mi preciosa Estrella del Penthouse, Brenda, ya no estaba con nosotros. Ya podía empezar.

Pero dejadme echar marcha atrás un momento. Cuando llegué por primera vez al hospital de Oaxaca con Deborah, Brenda fue la primera chica a quien conocí. Puedes leer sobre ello en mi artículo anterior. Lo que no he contado es que tenía una de las sonrisas más brillantes que jamás he visto. Su luz le salía a chorros por esos ojos tan vivos e inteligentes. Brenda decía que estaba en su penthouse y desde allí veía toda la ciudad y todo el mundo. Bromeamos sobre ir a pasear por Nueva York a comprar ropa de lujo como estrellas de cine. Le pedí que nos concediese una entrevista para contar cómo EFT la ayuda en su situación.
En un principio le dio vergüenza, “¡Pero mira cómo voy! ¡Qué pelos!” me decía.  Le dije que su testimonio sería muy importante para que gente por todo el mundo pudiese ver cómo EFT puede ayudar incluso en casos muy serios. Nos reímos diciendo que iba a ser famosa y que la vería gente por todo el mundo. ¡Ahora era la Estrella del Penthouse!

Pues ya eres famosa, Brenda. Gracias a tu testimonio, mucha gente se sentirá inspirada a utilizar EFT para aliviar a niños que sufren por todo el mundo, y a raíz de ello, la vida de muchos niños y sus familias mejorará. Desde aquí te doy las gracias por haberte conocido. Me inspiraste con tu fuerza, alegría, con esa radiante sonrisa y mucho más. Gracias por ese abrazo tan sentido que nos dimos de despedida. Me llena el corazón.
(El vídeo de la entrevista con Brenda se está editando, pero se publicará en cuanto esté listo.)

Esta es la realidad. No es un cuento, está pasando. Estos niños están muy enfermos, y para muchos de ellos es el paso anterior a dejar sus cuerpos y seguir su camino. La muerte es un tema que suele quedarse escondido y sobre el que nadie quiere hablar. Es como si no hablamos de ello, no sucederá. Un poco así como el niño que se tapa los ojos ante un peligro y cree que está a salvo por no verlo.
La medicina en general está enfocada a ‘salvar vidas’ – la sociedad en general ‘no quiere que se muera’ nadie. Cuando alguien está gravemente enfermo o herido, queremos que ‘se ponga bien’ – es decir, que siga vivo y con buena salud.
Una pregunta: ¿qué pasaría si nadie se muriese nunca? Dejo la pregunta con cada uno de vosotros para llegar a vuestra propia respuesta. Es un tema que me fascina y hablaré de ello en más profundidad en otra ocasión.

Podemos ver la situación de estos niños desde muchas perspectivas. Algunos de vosotros leerá este artículo y durante unos minutos sentirá simpatía por los niños y seguramente admiración por la labor de Deborah. Otros se sentirán inspirados a hacer una donación para ayudar a Deborah hacer más y mejor por estos niños. Unos pocos os sentiréis inspirado a llamar a las puertas de hospitales y organizaciones para introducir EFT y aportar de esta manera tu grano de arena. Otros sacarán ideas de cómo pueden utilizar EFT en situaciones muy distintas a estas. Muchos de vosotros enviaréis una oración de amor. Cada uno lo hará desde su perspectiva – y todas son válidas. Gracias por vuestras amorosas energías al leer estas palabras.
Lo que ha demostrado Deborah durante su experiencia con estos niños, es que podemos hacer algo para aliviar su situación. EFT es una herramienta maravillosa que da a los niños confianza y el conocimiento de que ellos mismos tienen el poder para sanar. (Recordar que ‘sanar’ no significa sobrevivir físicamente. Este no es el objetivo principal.)

Podemos aliviar su miedo a las agujas y consecuentemente reducir la cantidad de veces que tienen que ser pinchados, lo que a su vez reduce considerablemente su dolor físico y su nivel de estrés. Ya no tienen que ponerse tensos y gritar, no tienen la subida de adrenalina implícita  en un estado de estrés, con todo lo que ello supone para su ya debilitado cuerpo.
Una de las situaciones que más me chocó durante mi experiencia en el hospital, fue durante nuestra visita del jueves. Vi cómo en un cuarto muy pequeño, el personal médico estaba preparando a una niña de unos 6-7 años para hacerle un punción lumbar. Deborah se metió en el cuarto e hizo tapping con ella mientras hacían el procedimiento. La aguja entró a la primera. Yamilet estaba relajada y solo sintió un mínimo de dolor momentáneo.

A los dos minutos de haber salido Yamilet, entró otro niño para lo mismo. Sin embargo, Jorge Gabriel no iba a consentir que se lo hicieran. Ya había aprendido lo mucho que dolía, y no quería repetir la experiencia. Jorge Gabriel es un niño de unos 10 años, muy grande y corpulento para su edad. Sentado en la camilla, se puso a menear las caderas en un estado de pánico total, sabiendo que si se movía no lo podían pinchar. Con su padre delante de él y hasta 5 adultos más intentando sujetarle y obligarle físicamente a estar quieto, el pánico subía por segundos. Vi cómo su padre, con una cara de angustia horrorosa, metía su puño en el estómago de su hijo a la vez que con la otra mano agachaba forzosamente su cabeza para obligarle a doblar la espalda y permitir que le pincharan. Esto continuó durante 10 minutos. Se dice muy pronto, pero intentad imaginar lo largo que se le hizo a Jorge Gabriel.
Entonces el médico residente se dio por vencido y se fue a buscar al Dr. Quero. Justo cuando el niño estaba empezando a recuperar el aliento, todo volvió a empezar de nuevo. Durante varios minutos más, volvió a agitarse con una fuerza y violencia exagerada para su tamaño, impulsado por el pánico de volver a sentir el dolor de esa aguja. Finalmente, el Dr. Quero también se dio por vencido y decidieron que no lo podían hacer – en ese momento.

Las enfermeras y médicos salieron del cuarto y se quedó Deborah con Jorge Gabriel y su padre. Tardó unos 15 minutos en poder tranquilizarle suficiente para poder respirar con normalidad de nuevo. Tengo mezclada la imagen del terror absoluto del niño, y la horrenda angustia del padre y la energía tranquilizadora de Deborah, en una escena casi indescriptible.
(Pudimos captar esta escena en vídeo. El vídeo se está editando y ya se publicará.)

No fue posible preparar al niño antes de que hicieran el procedimiento, porque no sabíamos que lo iban a hacer. Para cuando Deborah se dio cuenta, el niño ya estaba en modo de pánico y al entrar ella en el cuarto, Jorge Gabriel no permitió que le tocara. Deborah se quedó al lado de la camilla haciendo tapping en ella misma. Es una de las frustraciones que Deborah tiene que manejar, que incluso estando allí en el hospital, no la informan de lo que van a hacer (o han hecho) con los niños para poderlos preparar y tranquilizarles de antemano.

Siento no poder decir que con 2 rondas de tapping, se calmó milagrosamente el tema, y “todos vivieron felices y comieron perdices”. Es importante recalcar que aunque EFT produce resultados sorprendentes, no es una varita mágica. Pero sí marca la diferencia. En algunos casos los resultados son muchos más impactantes, pero todo resultado es un resultado. En este tipo de situación, quizás más que en ninguno, es importante trabajar libre de expectativas personales sobre el resultado.
Podemos aliviar las nauseas físicas provocadas por la fuerte medicación que les administran. El tratamiento del cáncer es brutal. Los químicos que les inyectan y las medicaciones que utilizan son tremendamente fuertes. Sus cuerpos reaccionan con violencia y con frecuencia vomitan. Encima de sus dolores y temores, tienen que manejar todos los desagradables síntomas de las nauseas. EFT ha dado muy buenos resultados trabjando con las nauseas y en muchos casos las elimina por completo, lo que permite que el niño esté más tranquilo.

En una ocasión Deborah estaba trabajando con una joven adolescente, Gilda, en la sala de estar. Esta es una sala donde los niños tienen libros, lápices, juguestes, televisor y hay butacas en la que se reclinan con sus goteros a su lado. Está frecuentado por madres con niños y es bastante concurrido, y con el volumen de la tele y las múltiples conversaciones, no es un lugar ideal para practicar EFT. Sin embargo, allí estaba Deborah ayudando a Gilda con sus nauseas. Consiguieron frenar los vómitos (que habían continuado mientras hacían tapping) y que se quedara mucho más tranquila.

Podemos ayudarles a perder el miedo a la muerte.  Y para los que ya están en sus últimos momentos, a morir tranquilos y en paz.
Deborah me había dicho que tienen tan poco espacio que cuando un niño se está muriendo, lo único que hacen es correr una mampara entre su cama y la de su vecino. El segundo día que llegué al hospital, vi en una de las habitaciones una mampara. Me quedé mirando inquisitiva a Deborah y me confirmó con la mirada que en efecto, el niño se estaba muriendo. Carlos tenía tan solo 2 años y medio y el día anterior no habíamos podido hablar con él ni su familia pues estaba dormido mientras estuvimos. Hacía poco que estaba ingresado y Deborah no había hablado todavía con ellos. A la mañana siguiente nos enteramos que había fallecido esa tarde.

Las creencias de sus padres impedía que le hiciesen transfusiones de sangre, por lo que lo único que les quedaba era despedirse de su hijo y dejarle morir en paz. Aunque personalmente no comparto sus creencias, respeto su decisión y defiendo su derecho a tener las creencias que tienen. Por mi parte no hay juicio alguno sobre su decisión. Espero que no la haya por la vuestra. Otro tema fascinante, pero no voy a entrar en él aquí.

Mientras estuvimos allí, Paula, quien compartía habitación con Carlos salió empujando su gotero con cara muy triste. Deborah se sentó con ella en el pasillo y estuvieron hablando de la pena que sentía por la situación de su compañero de cuarto. Paula es una preciosa niña de 7 años que conoce bien a Deborah y utiliza a menudo su osito Tappy. Le habíamos regalado un libro de Tappy y cuando la vimos al llegar esa mañana, estaba coloreando felizmente en su nuevo libro. Con unos pocos minutos de tapping, se había disipado la tristeza y la niña se encontraba mucho mejor. Deborah comentó que la muerte no es algo de lo que se habla con los niños y no saben qué hacer con las emociones que les provoca ver la muerte de un niño a su lado, y más teniendo en cuenta que sufría la misma condición que ellos mismos.  Con el tapping, Deborah les ayuda a entender sus emociones y expresarlas, con el alivio y paz que esto les trae.

Personalmente creo que es importante hablar a los niños de la muerte. Es parte de la experiencia de la vida. Además los niños aceptan la muerte con mucha más facilidad que los adultos. Es la actitud de los adultos hacia la muerte que les enseña que es algo que temer e intentar evitar. En mi opinión es esencial y mucho más sano para su desarrollo emocional, tratar el tema abiertamente con ellos y quitar ese velo de ‘tema tabú’.

El trabajo que hace Deborah en el hospital de Oaxaca es una pequeña muestra de lo que se podría hacer en innumerables hospitales por todo el mundo. Es una labor pionera que está abriendo puertas en muchos lugares donde EFT, y otras modalidades de energía psicológica, pueden marcar la diferencia. Para poder extender los conocimientos que ha adquirido durante su experiencia, y para demostrar a la comunidad médica, tarea nada fácil, los beneficios de estas herramientas como complemento a su labor, hacen falta recursos. Humanos y económicos. Sobre esto hablaré en otro artículo.

Hay muchas más anécdotas y momentos con los niños. Cada uno de ellos tiene su historia. Creo que con este breve repaso, os podéis hacer una idea de la situación de estos maravillosos almas en cuerpos pequeñitos.
Comparto un último momento con vosotros. Estábamos en la sala familiar grabando a los niños y entregando libros de Tappy y me senté al lado de (D: I can’t remember this little boy’s name. Pls let me know) para mirar su libro con él. Un pequeño vivaz con cara de pillo y ojos traviesos, de solo 5-6 años de edad. Tenía su osito Tappy en su regazo y estaba sonriendo y muy contento por el regalo del libro y me puse a leerle un cuento. Mientras le estaba leyendo, ¿name? se dio cuenta que Deborah le estaba grabando con el vídeo. En un flash, se subió el osito delante de él para esconderse de la cámara, riéndose. Jugamos un ratito al escondite con la cámara asomando la cabeza por encima del libro y el osito y volviendo a escondernos entre muchas risas y diversión. Fueron unos minutos mágicos. Para mi, el mejor sonido del mundo es la risa de un niño.
(El vídeo se está editando)

La decisión sobre cómo recuerdo mi experiencia en Oaxaca es totalmente mía. Me podría dejar llevar por la inevitable pena y tristeza y recordar las imágenes y los sonidos asociados. O puedo recordar la alegría innata y generosa de estas preciosas criaturas, y recordar las imágenes de sus sonrisas y los sonidos de sus risas. No fue una decisión difícil de tomar.
Os dejo con una reflexión. Aunque lloré por la muerte de Brenda, lo que me queda es su sonrisa y cariño en mi corazón y el privilegio de haberla conocido. Esta es mi recompensa por las lágrimas. Las lágrimas son un precio insignificante en comparación. No cambiaría ese recuerdo y las emociones que lo acompañan por nada del mundo.

Va por ti Brenda, mi preciosa Estrella del Penthouse.

Un abrazo cariñoso a todos

Vera