Saturday, January 23, 2010

Once Upon a Time

Fairy tales suck. Stay with me for a minute and see if you don't find yourself agreeing. In fairy tales, which my daughter can't get enough of, everything turns out perfectly. A woman who has a life of misery finds the person of their dreams, they fall in love, send out the wedding invitations and live happily ever after. The end.

But that isn't the end, is it? We all know that after the wedding the real work begins.

What I want is a book that continues the story. That gives a realistic view of marriage and life post-blissed out wedding story. That highlights that you don't always agree with the person you have fallen in love with and that you don't need to have a perfect life to know that you made the right choice for someone to share your life with.

I don't want a doom and gloom book but I do think it's unfair to give children this warped view of what being in love is all about. Sure - it's great and in the beginning it's all consuming but somewhere along the line real life takes center stage and the it takes work, and dedication, to keep the train on the track. There are choices to be made every single day. You can't just sit back and say "I found my perfect mate and now everything will be perfect from this point forward."

Ok wow. That was a tangent. However let me be clear: this is NOT a slam against my former relationship. It's just the path my brain is taking this morning. I guess more than anything, I don't want Kaylen so caught up in wanting the Cinderella story that she doesn't see the whole picture. It could also be that I am really tired of reading princess stories. :)

5 comments:

momof4 said...

I have found your blog through searching Pallid BHS. There's a lot of info online about these, but not too many people to connect with who either are going through these struggles with a child, or have in the past. I would love to touch base with you about your past experiences with your daughter. Not too sure how to do this, but would love some feedback and ideas on dealing with a child who has these spells.

Casey said...

Momof4,
Feel free to email me at casey784@comcast.net. I would be happy to share my experience and hear about yours.

-Casey

Anonymous said...

Casey,

You should write such a book!

Kristen said...

Not to mention that most princess stories don't even include the prince and princess talking to each other before they get married.
Um, hello little mermaid- gives up her family for a dude she's never even spoken to. Sigh.

Tanya said...

Maybe that's the ticket Kristen. Arranged marriages. Then you never expect all the romantic love stuff.