Princesses and Fairytales

Once upon a time... God blessed me with three little princesses and I penned a fairytale for them. It earned me the "best writer (and mommy) in the world" title, which still makes me smile. Unfortunately, today wasn't one of those happily ever after days I spoke of in our story.

I'm sure it didn't help that I stayed up way too late and got up way too early. Such is life in Mommydom I suppose. ;-)

And while days like today don't get stored in the "warm fuzzies" file, I did learn something. I learned that fairytales have a lot to teach.

Take for instance my favorite "fairy story" as my girls call them. Beauty and the Beast. I was contemplating this story because I resembled the beast more than Belle today. As I pondered why, the whole idea of hiding came to the forefront. Beast hid out of fear that no one would love him. He presented a fierce front, as if he didn't need that love, to protect himself from expected rejection.

Me too.

I'd rather pretend I'm not hurt by my daughter's or other's rejections and so I put on a gruff front. Thing is, I want to be listened to out of love and not fear. But rather than be honest, I hide.

It's easier.

It hurts less. (or so I think)

While that makes for good conflict in a story, it makes for a rotten day.

The solution?

Rather than spend days stewing over a hurt, I need to get honest. With myself. And, in today's case, with my eldest princess. What happens when I do that is better than a fairytale ending. I come clean before God and experience amazing grace. I come clean before my daughter and find that not only did I feel hurt by our confrontation, but so did she. We apologize, sometimes cry, and then reaffirm our love for each other. This process can take a few days or a few minutes. I much prefer the lesser of the two!

And while I still long for the ultimate happily ever after, these little glimpses of joy are worth the work.

Because when I do, I look more like Belle to my princesses than Beast.

I'll take that any day.