Everyone Loves a Princess Story

Everybody loves a princess story!  I think I still love to believe in romance, love, first kiss. blushing bride, a carriage ride down a brick road with flowers strewn everywhere.

You know what is missing from all these stories?  The happier ever after is not always told in these stories. Whatever happen to Cinderella?  How many kids did they have and did she make them do chores?  Did Ariel's kids have a love for the water and swimming still?  Did Belle ever learn to cook or did the talking kitchen still take care of it all?  I think about things like that.

You know what makes me sad though?  Sooo many times when a newly wed will talk of her love for her prince, I'll hear a sourpuss say "Oh, you just wait till you've been married for 10 years, 20, years, etc. Then you won't think like that or be like that."  I got that all the time.  That breaks my heart to hear someone's love bubble popped like that. Everyone deserves to enjoy those early years of blushing romance.  Sure the heart might not beat out of the chest with just a glance after a few years, but the love grows in a better way.  A deeper love.  I tell every newlywed, "Congratulations, it just gets better!  I married my best friend 12 years ago and never regretted it."  Well, what happens if it doesn't pan out for them?  Well, it wasn't my job to look at the crystal ball and predict it for them.

Virginia, 1998

I'll never forget how I met my prince.  It was soooo classy.  My family invited him over to fellowship and play board games.  I heard a knock at the door and didn't bother to answer it. I was too busy playing Super Mario Bros on the Nintendo on the floor.  He said "Hi" and I said a simple "Hi" back and went back to playing.  It wasn't till we were all playing Scrabble later. I noticed he put down a really BIG word  and I said "Wow, you're smart!"  He looked up and smiled at me.  He said that's when he really noticed me and started to like me.  So that's it ladies, that's how I got my man.  12 years later and I make sure to sprinkle "Wow, you're smart" in our conversations every now and then.  It's funny because anytime I ever say it still he smiles really big.  Tee hee..

There was so much in my life going on.  I had already come from a 3 year serious relationship.  I wasn't ready to move on because I was scared.  Do you know what he said?  "I'll wait for you." And he did for a year.  He just became my friend and earned my trust.  Never made a move on me.  We talked on the phone.  Played volleyball twice a month with friends. I never thought he'd mean it.  But he did and a year later he asked me again.  3 months later we were married.  Our first kiss was on our wedding day.

I married my prince.  He still goes out and slays dragons and brings in the meat.  Some days I see how tired he is from working and I think, "I can't believe he works so hard for us."  I may not blush every time he looks at me anymore with his sweet smile but my heart still melts when I see how hard he works for his family or that he still is willing to change a diaper just because.  No one asks him to.  Or seeing him push a stroller with a diaper bag attached around other guys and not be embarrassed.  I'm not dumb.  I know he loves sweet sports cars.  But we have a huge family van.  We like to call it our monster on the road.  It's not exactly a monster truck.

December 5th, 1998

If we just think about it.  Our Princess story didn't end on our wedding day.  We are living our ever after.  For some the story didn't end the way we hoped for.  For some maybe we don't appreciate what our ever after looks like. Or we compare our ever afters.  What if Cinderella compared her prince to Aurora's?  After all, some of the guys actually slayed a dragon.  Cinderella's merely met her in a ball and had to get past her sneaky step sisters  Can we kill our ever after?  Absolutely.  My prince isn't perfect but HELLO, neither is his princess.

I'm living my Ever After.  Sometimes my Ever After is barefoot and pregnant cleaning my castle.  Sometimes it's watering dirt trying to coax a flower from it.  Other times it's in the hot laundry room cleaning my prince's clothes.  Or washing that huge pile of dishes.  Mopping after a trail of mud footprints on the tile.  I'll take it.  After all, my prince is still going out and bringing home the meat for me because he loves me.