The Princess

My daughter believes with her whole heart that she is a Princess. In the last week she has taken to heading out in full princess dress. We are talking, pink princess dress, crown, clip-clop dress-up heals, bracelets and other assorted jewels. She demands you address her as Sleeping Beauty. She has taken to participating in all of her activities as Sleeping Beauty, including soccer and riding her bike (for which she has had to remove the heals and wear something more appropriate, much to her dismay). We even went to the hair salon for her brother’s haircut dressed in full princess gear, where there to she would not respond unless you addressed her as Sleeping Beauty or Princess.




There is part of me that gets annoyed by being slowed down to walking at dress up heal speed. I have often seen those mothers out and about with their children dressed in tattered dress up outfits and been glad I never had to battle with my boys over their persona. Then there is the part of me that delights in the fact that my daughter’s imagination is so vibrant that she can personify someone she admires. It was sort of sad when the weather turned colder and she had to start wearing her regular clothes again so we modified with sleeping beauty sunglasses and crown just to keep the spirit alive.

And because of the cold weather, I thought maybe the Princess personification would be over. Maybe sunglasses and a crown were not enough to keep the spririt alive. And then one morning we showed up to drop off her brother at school and she was wearing her pjs and sleeping beauty sunglasses. Her favorite teacher helped her brother from the car and commented on her beautiful glasses. As we drove away, she asked me who I thought the teacher’s favorite princess might be. I am pretty sure he doesn’t have a favorite princess since his child is a boy and he is male himself, but I said I thought he might like Rapunzel best (since it is the new movie out and all). She responded, “Maybe. But I think his favorite Princess is ME!”

Well my heart melted at this moment. She really does believe that her beauty is radiant and all who come to know her love her just like they feel about the princess in all the movies she watches. I know I feel this way about her, but I am just a bit biased as her mother. When I realize I am encouraging her to believe she is beautiful and loved no matter what, it is less strange to walk around with a fully dressed princess slowly treading through life in oversized heals. As a matter of fact, if that is all it took for her to remain confident, I would encourage her to dress like a princess forever! And I hope someday when she looks back on the Princess Years, she remembers how confident and beautiful she really is…inside and out…even without the clothes, heals and crown.