As the man bid on one side and the woman bid on the other, Polly the dolly began to think of
alternatives. Wouldn’t it be nice, she found herself thinking, if they got together and I could live with both of
them. If that wasn’t going to happen, maybe I could live with one part of the time and the other for part of the
time. Maybe there is a way for both of them to be happy.
The man became louder in his bidding. The woman became more desperate in hers. Polly the
dolly began to think it might be better if she fell off the shelf where she was displayed. If she was
cracked or broken, maybe the fighting for her might stop. Then she realized that, if that happened,
no one would be happy, not even Polly herself.
Why was the man getting so loud and the woman so desperate, she wondered. Was it because
each of them loved her so much that they thought they could be happy only if she was solely theirs?
As Polly thought about them loving her and wanting her, she began to feel better. No matter who
won and no matter who she went to live with, there was something that would remain unchanged:
The man and woman were both bidding because they wanted Polly, because she was special and
unique, because she was loved and valued.
Whatever happened in the auction room that day, or in the days before, or the days that followed,
Polly the dolly knew she was—and would always remain—special. Sometimes she forgot it, but in
those times she found it helpful to remind herself, They might not agree, but they do love me. Yes, she
could be loved and valued, and somehow it helped to remind herself of that. She felt some pride in
the fact that she was Pollyanna Priscilla Ponsenbury the Third, and comfort in the fact that she was
Polly the dolly—but more important, she thought, it felt good just to be herself.
STORY 32
CAUGHT IN THE MIDDLE: A TEEN STORYTherapeutic Characteristics
Problems Addressed
■ Parental separation
■ Custody battle
■ Feeling caught in the middleResources Developed
■ Seeking solutions
■ Looking for compromises
■ Accepting what cannot be changed
■ Finding the positives
■ Seeing yourself as lovableOutcomes Offered
■ Acceptance
■ Self-worth
■ The sense that “I am okay”104 Healing Stories, Teaching Stories