Happily Ever After

I know that many experts out there discuss the fact that we poison our little girls with stories of glass slippers and knights in shining armor and living happily ever after.  I don't listen to them.  I'm thirty years old, and today even I want to be a princess. 

It wasn't really my plan to wake up to watch the royal wedding, but when I found myself unable to sleep during the four o'clock hour this morning, I figured it was fate's way of telling me I'd better not miss the nuptials of the century.  As I told Steve this evening, I very clearly remember a time in the early 90's when I was sure I stood a chance (albeit slight) with Prince Wills.  The idea that he might find himself in Eden Prairie, MN and sweep me off my feet didn't strike me as totally crazy.  Seriously, who is with me?  I know you felt it, too. 

I got caught up in the pomp and circumstance of the ceremony this morning.  I am fascinated by royalty and the fact that, even in this age, that type of reign still exists.  Did you see the thousands gathered in Trafalgar Square to watch the televised ceremony and then fight for a sight of the newly betrothed couple as they left Westminster Abbey in a horse-drawn carriage?  I love that Kate and Will, who represent a new generation of the monarchy, have brought so much hope to their country and to the world.  Maybe it's crazy that we put any hope at all in the marriage of two young people, but I think there is a strong message within about the most basic human needs: we want to see - in lives outside of our own - that true love exists.  That dreams do come true.  That fairy tales don't just come in animated form.  That happily ever after isn't a fleeting sentiment.

It was Princess Day at Sara's school.  She was thrilled to wear her princess dress today, and tonight talked about all her friends who also dressed up as princesses.  There is something so magical about believing that being a princess - being somebody's princess - is within reach.  I don't think anyone should settle for less than that, and certainly not my Sara.  Even I couldn't help myself: I wore a purple dress today just to feel a little bit like royalty.

"Every wedding is a royal wedding with the bride and groom as king and queen of creation."

Rt. Rev. Richard Chartres, Bishop of London