I remember once, we were walking down "Main Street" of Disney's Magic Kingdom with our three boys. They were running circles around us while waving their "Pirates of the Caribbean" swords. We laughed as they "ARRRRG-ed" and "fought off" the imaginary bad guys and alligators that were all around us. As I turned, I happened to see a little girl dressed from head to toe in a princess costume, covered in sparkly glitter. She danced around her parents and gracefully floated with pirouettes down the same street.
Fighting back tears, I knew how absurd I was being, but I couldn't help but feel somewhat crushed. Around this same time, our three year old son stabbed me in the foot. I looked at my husband and sighed, "We're never going to have that. We'll never know what it's like to have a Princess."
Fast forward to the year 2009 and there she was. When the doctor announced that it was a girl, my soul danced. We named her Lauren Elizabeth and decided to use the nickname, "Ella" from Elizabeth as our little reminder of a Cinder"ella" princess.
Three years have passed and the irony of it all, is that I don't know if we should really want a princess. The drama, high maintenance, bossy type of princess to be exact. I think that what we're learning in the world of little girls, is that there are two different kinds of princesses. There are the sweet and loving versions and the complete opposite...you know the ones.
When she was born, I couldn't WAIT to dip our baby girl into a barrel of glitter and stick a magic wand in her hand. Now though, I know the difference. I want her to be kind and good but not mean or pushy. I don't want her to be helpless or weak either. She should be able to hold her own in any situation. There's something to be said for a girl who can handle anything thrown her way.
Maybe that's the answer. It's our job to make sure that she turns out with a good mix of both fairy tale and real world. It would be nice if she could be a girly girl but be strong and independant too.
I can only hope that one day, we'll make it back to the "Magic Kingdom" with all four of the kids. I know that my heart would be happy, finally having our three pirates and our little princess.
I guess the only thing that could possibly make it any better, would be if she decided to take on the alligators along side of her brothers. That, while maybe wearing a little sparkle for good measure.