Friday, April 29, 2011

Once upon a time . . .

Today Prince William married Kate Middleton, and she became a princess.

Honestly I don't really care.  There are a lot more important things going on.  A few wars.  Tornadoes and loss of life.  Home foreclosures.  And the price of gas is going through the roof.

Closer to home, I have friends with cancer.  And one is having her mastectomy today.  Who cares about a royal wedding?

And then I watched the news this morning and saw Kate, standing at the altar of the cathedral in her ivory lace gown, with her glittering tiara and an enchanting smile.  I saw Prince William in his royal scarlet uniform and epaulets, with the gold sash, gazing with adoration on his bride.  This is a moment.

And then I remembered.  When I was a little girl, I wanted to be a princess.  I wanted to leave my mundane, ordinary existence, and I wanted a fairy tale life.  Maybe not every little girl wants this, but I think I'm not the only one.

Beauty. Romance. Ceremony.

Cinderella.  Snow White.  Sleeping Beauty.
Happily ever after.

And I wonder why I wanted this.  Or maybe I still want this.  Certainly, a life of wealth and no worries sounds good, but I think there's more than that.  (And yes, I know that real princesses who live outside of fairy tales don't live a perfect happily-ever-after life.  But I like fairy tales.)

A princess doesn't have to DO anything.  She lives an extraordinary life because she is extraordinary.  At her core.  Even when she lives in the ordinary world, something about her shines through.  Her evil stepsisters fear her because they know.  The birds sing around her.  Rabbits and deer and dwarves adore her.  They'll do anything for her.  And when she rides through the streets on her horse or in her Bentley, she waves graciously and the crowds cheer.

Because she is a princess.  And they love her.  She doesn't have to prove anything.  Her goodness flows out of who she is.  And she is good.  And she does good things.

And so I'm not sure what it is, but I must confess that part of me still wants to be a princess.  And it's not that I don't want to do anything.  I can't imagine a life like that.

But sometimes I think I want to be rescued from my very ordinary existence and I want to live an extraordinary life.  Just because I am extraordinary.  

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