I’ve decided I need a goal, so here it is… I’m going to try to post at least three days a week. Now, if I only post twice one week that doesn’t mean you all need to worry… it just means I hit a speed bump… but I’m going to do my best to get myself going again.
And I figured, what better way to get back on track than to start writing our old Monday A 2 Z posts? I went back in the archives and found we had only finished through “D,” so I scoured your comment suggestions for an “E” topic.
Let me just say… “E” was a tough one!
But I finally decided on the suggestion:
Ever After
Ah, fairy tales. We all loved them when we were little, didn’t we? The fair maiden, the villain, the conflict and the conquering hero. Every story had it’s arc, every evil sorcerer met his match, true love was found and they all lived…
… Happily Ever After.
Then we grew up and, either through someone warning us or through our own experiences, we decided not every story had a happy ending. We were told that fairy tales heap unrealistic expectations on the youth of our world, that instead they should be prepared for life not always being easy… dreams not always coming true… and not everyone always getting their happily ever afters.
I think they’re wrong.
Oh, life can have strife… but so did the fairy tale. Snow White had to worry about the apple, Cinderella was little more than a slave, poor Rapunzel was isolated in a tower for most of her life. They all had their struggles and were saved by their knights in shining armor, but we can’t forget that they might have made a fine life if the knights never showed.
After all, Snow White was doing just fine running a boarding house for dwarves, Cinderella sought out the help of her fairy godmother long before Prince Charming noticed her slipper, and Rapunzel… well, she was the one smart enough to grow her hair in the first place. :)
All that to say, the characters all had struggles and they all had resolutions. As little girls grow up they kiss their share of frogs and meet some princes that aren’t worth their time… as the prince says in the musical Into the Woods, “I was raised to be charming… not sincere.” Some find their soul mate and are swept off their feet, and others find joy in their regular circumstances… choosing to whistle while they work.
Just like real life.
Some of us live in castles, some of us live in shacks. Some of us have seven or more dwarves running around, helping where they can, and some of us are in the kitchen looking forward to the fairy godmother’s next visit. We are the characters of our own stories… we’ve met our villains, we’ve shown our courage, we’ve taken pleasure in our successes, kissed our frogs, met our princes and sometimes we’ve forged our own paths, being sure to leave breadcrumbs along the road for others to follow.
That’s life. In fairytales and on earth. The thing to remember is that we all get a happily ever after. No matter what your stature in life… wealthy or poor, life of leisure or hard at work… all we have to do is stay focused on what we believe. The One we believe in. Because after our time in this fairy tale of life is done…
… we all get our Happily Ever After.
Now remember, you need to leave the “F” topics of your choice in the comments and I’ll do my best to leave you something creative next Monday. :) If you forgot the concept of A 2 Z, just click the logo above to go to the original post.
Ok… ready for your “F” suggestions…