Dream on...

Did I ever tell you about the time we went to Disneyland for the very first time (last May) and I stood in line with Jamie Beth for almost TWO HOURS so she could meet the princesses? She loved it. Those pictures (which may or may not ever appear on this post) are such a hilarious blend of sudden shyness and complete awe. Jamie Beth's not obsessed with Disney princesses to any great degree, but who can not be impressed by real live beauties in fancy dresses, like a scene straight out of a fairytale? And these were very gracious cartoon characters, smiling and asking questions, hugging and posing for quick photos. By the end of the little tour, Jamie Beth had figured out that these were workers--employees of Disneyland who dressed up and pretended every day. That realization got her mind going.

"I want to work here someday! I'll be a princess sometimes, take tickets sometimes...it would be so fun!"

I wanted to hear more. "And which princess would you want to be?"

"Tiana."

Now, I want to encourage my daughter's dreams as much as the next mom who waited for TWO HOURS to meet pretend princesses, but...I thought I should maybe, just maybe, point out a key trait that Jamie Beth might have missed.

"Well, Tiana is very beautiful and charming, but, you know, ummm, she is black. And you are a very white Danish girl. Don't you think Disneyland would prefer a black girl to play Tiana? So she would kind of look like Tiana?" (Not to crush your dreams or anything.)

"It's okay, mom. It's just pretending."

"Right, true; but what about Sleeping Beauty or Cinderella? Ariel and Jasmine would be kind of tricky, but you could definitely be one of the blonde princesses." (Not to sound prejudiced or anything; just trying to be realistic.)

"Nope. Tiana. She's my favorite."

Alrighty then. Let's go find a ride without a line.