Jess loved visiting Grandpa’s workshop. It smelled like sawdust and sunshine, and colourful jars of nuts and bolts glittered like treasure. Today, Jess was on a mission: to build the tallest, most magnificent block tower the world had ever seen. Carefully, Jess stacked red squares, blue triangles, and long yellow rectangles, imagining a castle that could touch the clouds.

The tower grew taller and taller, almost tickling the workbench light. Jess reached for the final, sparkling star-shaped block. But as it touched the top, the whole structure began to sway. Wibble-wobble… CRASH! The blocks clattered to the floor. A hot, prickly feeling bubbled up in Jess’s tummy. It was frustration, and it felt very big.

With a huff, Jess snatched the blocks and started again, trying to build even faster. "I'll make it super-duper strong this time!" Jess thought. But the big, prickly feeling made Jess's hands feel clumsy and shaky. The new tower went up quickly, but it was sloppy. Wibble-wobble… CRASH! It tumbled down again. The frustration grew into a sad, heavy lump.

Grandpa poked his head in. "Looks like you're building a wobbly feeling tower," he said with a kind smile. "Big feelings need a strong base. Let's try one together." He showed Jess how to take a slow, deep breath that filled their whole belly and then let it out like a soft breeze. Jess took a deep breath, and the shaky feeling started to calm down. Together, they imagined a new tower, starting with a wide, sturdy foundation. One block at a time, slow and steady, their tower rose higher and stronger than ever before.

The sparkling star-shaped block clicked perfectly into place on top. The tower stood tall, proud, and perfectly still. Jess looked at their creation and the big, prickly feeling was gone, replaced by a warm, happy glow. Building a block tower was fun, but learning how to build a calm feeling inside was the most magnificent creation of all.