Growing up, I was as close to a wannabe princess as a little girl living in middle-class North America can get. I lived for dolls, ballet lessons, Disney movies, dresses, lipstick, pretty dresses, and birthday parties that revolved around me. I remember loving that there was an entire day (or entire season, if I got my way) when everyone’s attention was devoted solely to me.
Maybe we get out of our system as children what won’t be conducive to our lives as adults. Or maybe I just grew up.
Either way, I know that my 10-year-old self wouldn’t have settled for the day I just had. And more importantly, my now 27-year-old self wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. On the general theme of love that I seem to be rolling with these days, I had so many more opportunities to give and receive it than the 10-year-old could have ever imagined. And, if I had the chance, I am pretty sure I would tell her that what I get to experience now is so much greater than what she thinks she desires.
This grand revelation requires a bit of background and thus the story of yesterday evening: After tucking in my nieces and nephew (aka – the loves of my life) last night, I was watching a rerun of Sex and the City. It was the one where Samantha finds out that she has cancer. Amidst the hype of Miranda’s wedding, Samantha’s rather earth shattering news comes out. Initially they try to hide it from Miranda – because she is the bride, and they don’t want to ruin her day. The scenario goes as follows:
Miranda: Tell me what you were talking about.
Samantha: I'll tell you tomorrow. I don't want to ruin your special day.
Miranda: Forget about my special day and be normal, please. I beg of you.
Samantha: I have breast cancer.
Miranda: What?
Charlotte: See, this is what we were afraid of. Go back to your people. We'll talk about this later.
Miranda: You are my people and we'll talk about it now.Now start at the beginning.
Despite their overt promiscuity, those trendy new yorkers are just sometimes so insightful and profound that I have a hard time not idolizing them. (Sometimes, I think Carrie lives inside my soul…but, that’s beside the point). The important part is that I am blessed beyond my wildest dreams to be like Miranda and have “people”. I am privileged enough to be in relationships that can not only withstand, but are essentially founded upon the fact that we can say “screw the special day. I don’t want to pretend that you aren’t hurting”. I don’t ever want to be the bride if that means pretending that things are different from what they really are. Little by little, I am learning that the opportunity to give love is so much more valuable than the opportunity to receive it. And that idle attention and flattery quickly fade in comparison to true relationship and that ultimately, I couldn’t be more blessed.
Maybe I am becoming less of a princess, and more of a Miranda. Either way, it's been a very Happy Birthday to me
posted by Jenn on Birthday, Princess, Sex and the City
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Growing up, I was as close to a wannabe princess as a little girl living in middle-class North America can get. I lived for dolls, ballet lessons, Disney movies, dresses, lipstick, pretty dresses, and birthday parties that revolved around me. I remember loving that there was an entire day (or entire season, if I got my way) when everyone’s attention was devoted solely to me.
Maybe we get out of our system as children what won’t be conducive to our lives as adults. Or maybe I just grew up.
Either way, I know that my 10-year-old self wouldn’t have settled for the day I just had. And more importantly, my now 27-year-old self wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. On the general theme of love that I seem to be rolling with these days, I had so many more opportunities to give and receive it than the 10-year-old could have ever imagined. And, if I had the chance, I am pretty sure I would tell her that what I get to experience now is so much greater than what she thinks she desires.
This grand revelation requires a bit of background and thus the story of yesterday evening: After tucking in my nieces and nephew (aka – the loves of my life) last night, I was watching a rerun of Sex and the City. It was the one where Samantha finds out that she has cancer. Amidst the hype of Miranda’s wedding, Samantha’s rather earth shattering news comes out. Initially they try to hide it from Miranda – because she is the bride, and they don’t want to ruin her day. The scenario goes as follows:
Miranda: Tell me what you were talking about.
Samantha: I'll tell you tomorrow. I don't want to ruin your special day.
Miranda: Forget about my special day and be normal, please. I beg of you.
Samantha: I have breast cancer.
Miranda: What?
Charlotte: See, this is what we were afraid of. Go back to your people. We'll talk about this later.
Miranda: You are my people and we'll talk about it now.Now start at the beginning.
Despite their overt promiscuity, those trendy new yorkers are just sometimes so insightful and profound that I have a hard time not idolizing them. (Sometimes, I think Carrie lives inside my soul…but, that’s beside the point). The important part is that I am blessed beyond my wildest dreams to be like Miranda and have “people”. I am privileged enough to be in relationships that can not only withstand, but are essentially founded upon the fact that we can say “screw the special day. I don’t want to pretend that you aren’t hurting”. I don’t ever want to be the bride if that means pretending that things are different from what they really are. Little by little, I am learning that the opportunity to give love is so much more valuable than the opportunity to receive it. And that idle attention and flattery quickly fade in comparison to true relationship and that ultimately, I couldn’t be more blessed.
Maybe I am becoming less of a princess, and more of a Miranda. Either way, it's been a very Happy Birthday to me
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