Recently, I asked her the same question again. This time, she changed her answer... to princess. Now she wants to be a freakin' princess when she grows up?! "What happened to being a veterinarian?" I asked."
"Daddy, I just want to be a princess ok?"
Immediately, alarm bells went off in my head. But I bit my tongue. The Disney trip euphoria still runs through her veins. And My Director assured me not to worry... that it's ok to dream at her age. As usual, she's right. (Every time I write that she's right an angel gets its wings.)
I understand the arguments about the stereotypes, the negative messages, etc. And why some parents want to avoid exposing their daughters to the princesses at all cost. Not only do I hear you, I was with you. This whole princess thing just happened innately. We didn't buy her any doll, dress her in any costume, or show her any movie. But despite our best efforts, she gravitated towards them. It's in her DNA I guess. Fine.
So we are firmly entrenched in the "let her enjoy the fantasy until the cold hard truth of reality smacks her in the face" camp. That cold hard truth will come from us one day. We'll have to tell her that life isn't a fairy tale. That your prince may never come. And if he does, "happily ever after" is all relative.
But that can wait. So for now, Peanut is a princess. And that's not so bad. After all, every time she plays dress-up she makes me her king. Not too shabby for a guy who grew up in a middle-class blue-collar family. And there's no arguing with the look on Peanut's face when she met the princesses in Disney World:
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| Aurora |
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| Snow White |
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| Ariel |
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| Cinderella (This is NOT the Cinderella I mentioned in this post.) |
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| How psyched am I to be on Belle's arm? |
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| Christmas morning 2011 (Santa knows) |
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| Playing with her two favorites at breakfast one morning (Ariel is the other) |
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| Princess Peanut as Rapunzel |
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| It was also the only place in the park with no shade |
And this is why I did it:
Nothing but smiles for Peanut. As for me:
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| Grumpy (And Syracuse won that day) |
We met two Cinderellas (and Snow Whites). The reason why I'm protecting the identity of one of those Cinderellas is in this post. (And it's not pretty.)
My cousin was Esmeralda for years. My sister teaches kindergarten and was looking through her student's pictures of her spring break and said "Hey! That's my cousin!" The little girl looked at her and said, "You're cousin's a princess?"
ReplyDeleteMy Youngest wanted to be a ninja for the longest time.
He's ten now. He wants to go to Harvard or MIT to be a scientist and discover a cure for gluten allergies (we are both Ceiliac) or cancer. Which ever is easier.
The moral here? Start saving for college. Because one can only get so far as a ninja.
I'd rather she marry a prince than pay for college. KIDDING!
DeleteNo kidding. We have a 17 year old leaving for college (fingers crossed) in Sept.
DeleteAt 40 flipping grand a year.
*sigh*
What fun seeing your princess meet her fellow princesses!
ReplyDeleteIt was one of the highlights of the trip for all of us. I almost lost my sh!t when she hugged Snow White.
DeleteLOVE this! Reminds me of when we took our 5 year old son (6 now) to Disney World last May. He LOVES the princesses. So we took him to a lunch with them at Epcot and had a blast. He adores Sleeping Beauty and we caught him on video camera when she was at the table next to ours and it appeared that she was coming to us next, he got all excited and she turned and went to a different table! The look on his face was priceless! LOL. She eventually came to our table. :-) Snow White really saved the day when she made a date with him to meet up at the Magic Kingdom later that night and we actually found her there later! Such a magically place!
ReplyDeleteYou're right about the "magic." The Cinderella I showed in this post somehow knew we met "her" (or her alter ego) at dinner the night before. How do they do that?
DeleteI have twin seven-year-old boys. We tried to keep them unaware of guns and swords and bludgeons and axes, all those weapons of destruction, only to find them at two-and-a-half battling the pine trees in the back yard screaming maniacally. Seems like children just go where the are programmed (destined?) to go.
ReplyDeleteI love your blog, very funny and poignant.
It's in the DNA I tell ya! And thank you for "funny and poignant." Those are two things I try to be almost every time.
DeleteWow ... where's Ariel's coconut bra? She's all classed up in a foofoo dress for a change.
ReplyDeletePlease, please introduce peanut to "The Princess Bride." Even though I despise Disney Princess putrescence, at least Princess Buttercup braves the Fire Swamp. It's full of other cool stuff besides princess-obsessing.
I guess since this was dinner on land she put the "bra" away. And don't you worry, Peanut and I will have fun storming the castle in due time.
DeleteI can totally relate to this post. With our daughters being almost the same age, I'm sure there is a lot we will go through together as dads of daughters who want to be princesses.
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