Why is a squirrel carrying a fish?

This is usually the first question people ask when they see Greta and Jamie.

And honestly, it's a fair question.

After all, carrying a fishbowl through a forest doesn't seem particularly practical.

The funny thing is that the idea is more realistic than it looks.

One day, my daughter walked into the kitchen holding her phone in one hand. One of her friends was on FaceTime.

At the same time, she was trying to cook spaghetti bolognese.

Was it practical?

Not at all.

Would it have been easier to put the phone down?

Absolutely.

Did she want her friend to be part of what she was doing anyway?

Also yes.

And that was the moment Greta and Jamie started to make sense to me.

Greta never asks herself whether bringing Jamie along is inconvenient.

If she wants to climb a tree, Jamie comes too.

If she wants to explore the forest, Jamie comes too.

If she finds something exciting, she wants him to see it.

Simple as that.

To Greta, Jamie isn't a problem to solve.

He belongs.

Looking back, I think that's another reason why the idea stayed with me.

Without planning it, Greta and Jamie also became a story about inclusion, accessibility and making space for one another.

Not in a grand or heroic way.

Just in the simple everyday way that matters most.

Greta never asks whether Jamie can join the adventure.

She starts with the assumption that he already does.

I think that's one of the things I love most about her.

She doesn't become less adventurous because her best friend is a fish.

And she doesn't leave him behind because bringing him along is difficult.

She simply picks up the fishbowl and starts climbing.

And Jamie?

Jamie doesn't entirely understand why Greta thinks he's so important.

But he enjoys being her friend.

As far as he is concerned, being carried through a forest is already a pretty good deal.

A squirrel and a fish probably shouldn't be able to share adventures.

Yet somehow they do.

Even if carrying a fishbowl up a tree remains a terrible plan.

A plan that Greta will almost certainly try again tomorro

Sketches of Greta and Jamie