Dear Little Person,
You’re a great believer in fairytales. You’re the princess at all times, and Cinderella when we’re reading it. Your imagination is so incredibly vivid, and you spend most of your days creating stories in your head, and acting them out in real life. You’re most comfortable in your princess dress, and you’re perfecting your royal wave.
I’ve battled over the years, torn myself up over whether or not I should let you believe in fairytales or not. I’ve spent many a night wondering if I’m doing you a disservice by letting you believe in men on white horses and grand balls that end at midnight, with a pumpkin. I resolved, a while ago, to let you believe them, because my very own fairytale was coming true.
And that’s where the difference lies. In this fairytale, where you tell me you are princess and I am the queen, I have a king and to you, he is your prince. Except, this king isn’t nobly fighting battles or scaring off dragons (although I’m relatively sure he’d scare off a dragon if we needed him to).
No, this king..this prince…this lovely man and his noble stead, are doing things for you and I that I never knew were possible. To the outside world, it would seem, they’re little. But, for you and I, they are the biggest shows of love that we have experienced. This noble man changes our lightbulbs and washes our dishes, while I lie on the couch and flick channels. This is the man who rearranges his schedule so that he can be with me for important parent meetings, and who happily kisses your knee better when you’ve scraped it. This is the man who holds my hand when I am sad, and wants only the best for you. Nothing else would ever be good enough.
This weekend is a case in point.
You spent most of the weekend with your granny. This was by your choice, and because granny was throwing a birthday party for some family friends’ twins. You had a wonderful time, and I know, strangely, that granny needed the comfort of you at this time in her life too. You know that you’re a comfort, right? You should. You’re one of the most compassionate people on the planet, and I sometimes just sit in wonder, as your gentle heart cares for every person around you.
We’d had plans, for the weekend. Those plans included Roald Dahl movies and McDonalds, because you’d seen the Smurfs toys advertised on telly that come with a Happy Meal, and our noble KingslashPrince had promised you that we’d get you one.
So, Sunday rolls around and off we go to the nearest McDonalds.
And we’re in the drivethrough, and we see a sign that says:
“we are out of stock of smurfs toys”.
*insert communal expletive and sob of frustration*
So, we park, and our KingslashPrince goes inside, and I’m not sure why, and I’m busy googling, trying to find the next nearest McDonalds…
He had gone inside to try and find out which McDonalds had the little Smurfs toys.
He had come to naught, so I eventually phone the one that’s near his house (also known as “on the other side of the river”) and they have stock of the Smurfs toy…
and I was like “no, seriously, we can’t do this – it’s ridiculous, we’ll just find something else to do”,
And he said…(I paraphrase)…
“No, we are going to drive all the way there and get that Smurfs toy happy meal, because I promised it to the princess. I love her, I made her a promise and I will drive anywhere to fulfill it”.
So we did. And you were happy, and I was happy. And there we were, sitting inside on a cold day, singing and being silly and eating badforyoubutsogood food, and it just hit me…
It is only EVER men who do these kinds of things that are EVER worth our attention. So yes, my sweet princess, you are a princess indeed, and I know that, one day, many hopeful princes will come knocking on the door (heaven help them because they can go and jump if they think they stand half a chance with you if they do not match up to the strict criteria I, and others, have set…)…but, my princess, nobody will be worth your attention until they prove themselves like this, time and time and time again.
And our KingslashPrince doesn’t just prove himself, over and over and over again. It’s his way of life. His commitment to us is overwhelming, and boundless.
And it’s that, my sweet princess, that lets me let you believe that fairytales do come true.
