There are things, obviously, I can't like about the Cinderella fairy tale.
I just can't, as a self-respecting modern gal, get into swooning over the idea that the be-all-end-all goal in life is to get rescued and married off to a prince. I mean, please. It's pretty easy to laugh off that antiquated tale with some good eye rolling. Save yourselves, ladies! (Littles? Are you listening?)
But... we all kind of love it, don't we? This little story has persisted and pervaded culture for a good long while. Even as I roll my eyes I have to admit... I kind of like the story.
After all, here we have a gal who is not afraid to get her hands dirty. A heroine who has one heck of a work ethic. Who manages to get through the daily drudgeries of her life, dealing with a you-know-what of a boss, and still go about it all cheerfully.
And, when the opportunity for an adventure presents itself, she doesn't sigh, "oh, no. that's not for poor little girls like me." She goes for it! She does the extra work, she makes her own clothes, and shows up ready to find out what's out there!
Sure, she gets knocked down (as all of us do), and needs to rely on a little help from a friend (as all of us do). But she keeps hoping and trying, and when some crazy pumpkin-shaped means of seizing the day presents itself, she hops on for the ride!
Sometimes we don't get exactly what we'd had in mind. But if we adapt, it can work out.
I like to think that it was this pluck and optimism that made our little 'Rella stand out among the crowd, to a prince who must have been decent enough if he had a thing for strong, go-getter girls with dishpan hands.
I like that when it was over she put on the old tattered shoes and went back to work. No woe-is-me I can't have it forever. Just appreciating the memories while she scrubbed the floors. Again.
In the end she does get to go off and live in a castle, but hey. Even the charmed life has its challenges. We never heard the rest of the story.
I think the reason I like this tale is that even though it is the quintessential fantasy fairy-tale, it's actually a lot like life.
We have to do chores and toil at things we don't love. We have to work with people we may not like. Life sure isn't always fair.
But. If we work really hard, if we never lose faith in our dreams and hopes and the glittering potential of what the future may hold, if we accept help when we need it, if we grab on to opportunities when they show up- even if they aren't perfect- if we strap on our glass slippers and go for the adventure, then sometimes. Sometimes- at least until midnight- our dreams can come true.
The big ones and the little ones, whatever they might be.
If you like fairy tales too, stay tuned. Next time I will tell you how, with help from my own prince charming and some fairy godparents, once upon a July, some of my own little wishes came true.
But for now. I have a floor to clean.
I just can't, as a self-respecting modern gal, get into swooning over the idea that the be-all-end-all goal in life is to get rescued and married off to a prince. I mean, please. It's pretty easy to laugh off that antiquated tale with some good eye rolling. Save yourselves, ladies! (Littles? Are you listening?)
But... we all kind of love it, don't we? This little story has persisted and pervaded culture for a good long while. Even as I roll my eyes I have to admit... I kind of like the story.
After all, here we have a gal who is not afraid to get her hands dirty. A heroine who has one heck of a work ethic. Who manages to get through the daily drudgeries of her life, dealing with a you-know-what of a boss, and still go about it all cheerfully.
And, when the opportunity for an adventure presents itself, she doesn't sigh, "oh, no. that's not for poor little girls like me." She goes for it! She does the extra work, she makes her own clothes, and shows up ready to find out what's out there!
Sure, she gets knocked down (as all of us do), and needs to rely on a little help from a friend (as all of us do). But she keeps hoping and trying, and when some crazy pumpkin-shaped means of seizing the day presents itself, she hops on for the ride!
Sometimes we don't get exactly what we'd had in mind. But if we adapt, it can work out.
I like to think that it was this pluck and optimism that made our little 'Rella stand out among the crowd, to a prince who must have been decent enough if he had a thing for strong, go-getter girls with dishpan hands.
I like that when it was over she put on the old tattered shoes and went back to work. No woe-is-me I can't have it forever. Just appreciating the memories while she scrubbed the floors. Again.
In the end she does get to go off and live in a castle, but hey. Even the charmed life has its challenges. We never heard the rest of the story.
I think the reason I like this tale is that even though it is the quintessential fantasy fairy-tale, it's actually a lot like life.
We have to do chores and toil at things we don't love. We have to work with people we may not like. Life sure isn't always fair.
But. If we work really hard, if we never lose faith in our dreams and hopes and the glittering potential of what the future may hold, if we accept help when we need it, if we grab on to opportunities when they show up- even if they aren't perfect- if we strap on our glass slippers and go for the adventure, then sometimes. Sometimes- at least until midnight- our dreams can come true.
The big ones and the little ones, whatever they might be.
If you like fairy tales too, stay tuned. Next time I will tell you how, with help from my own prince charming and some fairy godparents, once upon a July, some of my own little wishes came true.
But for now. I have a floor to clean.
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