The Next Chapter

For the hoards of you no doubt checking this blog everyday in the hopes that I have written something new: Congratulations! I have!

You can take a break for a snack now.

Follow my adventures adjusting to life outside the Magic Kingdom at www.fairygettingmarried.blogspot.com

See ya real soon!

To Keep Them With You

The best compliment I can receive from a guest is something along the lines of, "You made it so special for her!" This makes me prouder than any specific praise of my hair or my stories or my general perky demeanor.  To have made something so special for someone else is simply the most satisfying and gratifying thing one can do and to have a guest tell me I have accomplished this for their princess means more than all my GSF cards combined (13, by the way.) This compliment sums up absolutely everything a Fairy Godmother in Training is supposed to do and, as this is my final post, I thought I should too.

We are supposed to make our princesses feel welcome.  We greet them warmly and excitedly, welcome them in to our chair, and immediately make them feel like there is nothing more interesting in the whole world to us than them.  When I moved in to my apartment I was hesitant for less than an hour about my living arrangements.  As a person who has had nothing but terrible roommates since moving out of my parent's house when I first left for college this is a tremendous amount of confidence.  I have never felt welcome or felt that I was safe and with people like me outside of my own family home. But my roommates, my Floridian family, made me feel welcome.  These five women and I created a home together that made us all feel safe, welcome, cared for, and infinitely important to one another.  I made friends.  I made friends with complete strangers from all over the country and I can safely say that leaving them will be one of the hardest partings in my life.  These girls are the friends I was meant to have all along and in the short time we have spent together we have formed a bond that will no doubt continue throughout our lives. Our princesses are in our chairs for 30 minutes and we make them feel like it has always been and always will be their chair.  I have known Sam, Andi, Courtney, and Melissa for 4 months and I feel that they have always been and will always be my real friends.

We are supposed to give our princesses magic.  From my first day at the Boutique I loved what I did.  From our beautiful dresses to the constant swirl of Pixie Dust there was nothing more wonderfully magical than being a Fairy Godmother in Training.  Pixie Dust aside, what truly made the Boutique magical were my fellow FGITs.  These amazing women brought the stories to life, made each day fun, and created the magical memories that aren't just for the princesses.  I have had the distinct privilege of working with some of the most charming, smart, funny, and genuinely kind people in the world.  I suppose everyone eventually encounters a group of people so very like you where you fit just perfectly and for me this group was my FGITs.  There is a type of person who is a truly good Fairy Godmother.  They are kind, gentle, open minded, funny, loud, creative, quick witted, fast talking, dramatic, selfless, and beautiful and I can think of no greater honor than to be counted among their ranks.

We are supposed to create something that lasts.  It is not enough for our princesses to feel pretty for a few minutes as they stare at themselves in the mirror.  As a Fairy Godmother our job is to transform our princess so completely that she feels beautiful from the inside out for years to come.  When a princess leaves my chair, and I am certain I am not the only FGIT who feels this way, I want her to feel so beautiful she can't stop smiling.  I want her to feel so perfect that her joy just bursts from her in squeals of delight and peels of laughter.  I want her to keep that feeling with her when she goes.

I had a princess recently who's mother asked me about the college program while I was doing her hair.  I explained how it worked and that I only had a brief amount of time left before I had to turn in my gown and my wand and move on.  I returned to my usual princess performance and had a truly wonderful time with one of my more delightful princesses.  I turned the chair, she gasped in delight, hugged me, and toddled off with her mom to check out and purchase more accessories.  It was when I was cleaning my station a few moments later that she returned.

"Princess, you've got a beautiful purse now!"

"I have something for you!" She opened her little, blue, satin bag and fished around until she pulled out a large, clear plastic gem.  "This is my magic jewel. It's for you."

I bent down and held the shiny plastic in my hand.  "Thank you, princess. That's so very nice of you!"

"It's for you for when you leave.  You have to give back your dress and your wand but this is for your powers.  To keep them with you when you go."  She looked at me with the utmost sincerity.

"Thank you, princess.  I was so very worried I would have to leave them behind."



To my friends, my family, my FGITs, to the Royal Photographers, to every Pittsburgh guest, to my Make a Wish princesses, to my Sleeping Beauty, to the entire nation of Brazil, to Princess Rose, every reluctant princess, brave knights, to the story tellers, singers, and goofy face makers,  to every princess who ever just sat down for a chat with me and every family who laughed at my jokes, to my readers who I know and love and those who only know me through my words, and to every princess, every Hannah, Sara, Elizabeth and Isabella, every Sophia, Ashley, Ashleigh, and Ashlee, to every Bailey, Hailey, and my ever perfect Emmas, to everyone:



You made it so very special.

Fairy Throws a Fiesta (and Other Accomplishments)

I am a really excellent planner. I can create a plan for about anything but the trouble comes in the execution.  My myriad attempts at gourmet cooking provide an excellent example of this.  I can read a recipe, prepare every last ingredient, but, inevitably, something goes terribly, oven-wreckingly, wrong.  I don't mean to imply that I am a bad cook because that would be misleading. I am a pretty good cook, actually, as long as I stick to what I refer to as "real food." These being foods found in my mom's recipe box and old Betty Crocker cookbooks and other commonplace sources.  I have trouble when I, unwisely, venture in to the world of "picture food," that is foods I find in magazines and fancy food blogs.  I once attempted what appeared to be a simple salmon cake recipe.  The result was a glob of salmon meat and various mix-ins that was burnt black on the outside but still disgustingly squishy inside and all the doors and windows thrown open to allow the smoke to escape.  The point is I am really good at making plans but they rarely go exactly as expected.  So I was thrilled when a plan I made recently came together so smoothly.

My roommate Andi turned 23 on the 27th of April and we decided to put together a little day to celebrate.  Because this was Sam and me planning this quickly escalated in to an all day, pull out all the stops, bash.  Our day began on a formal note with breakfast with the princesses.  We dressed up and enjoyed a rather expensive but delicious meal with our girls Belle, Ariel, Aurora, Snow White, and Cinderella.

And I was like, "Oh, hey there, Cin." And she was all like, " Fairy Godmother Morgan, that dress is faaaantastic." And I was like, "Oh, you..."

We said our adieus to the royal family and headed out to the next portion of our ever more ridiculous day but not before stopping for a brief photo session in front of Spaceship Earth. The results were delightful.

Look how chill we are while Mickey commands a broom army behind us. That's Cast Member Confidence.

It was at this point that things got decidedly mas Mexicano. Andi (short for Andreina) is of Mexican decent and we think this is delightful.  I personally, have no interesting or scholarship worthy ethnicity to speak of and so I enjoy commandeering other people's cultures for the sake of a good tiempo.  So that is why we spent the rest of the day wearing tshirts with Andi's face printed across the front which boldly shouted "HOY ES EL CUMPLEANOS DE ANDREINA" and featuring a beautiful representation of cross cultural understanding on the back.

I think I honestly represented our level of understanding.

We spent our day at the Magic Kingdom which, in the opinion of people who matter, is the best place possible to celebrate a birthday this side of... no wait, it's just the best. We laughed overly hard at the jokes on the Jungle Cruise, shrieked with delight on the Magic Carpets, threw our hands in the air as we picked up speed to a whopping 6 miles per hour on the TTA and generally behaved like the children we secretly are.  Pause for obligatory castle picture (with a touch of fiesta flare.)

We chose the sombrero with the diameter closest to her height as is the Mexican tradition, I assume.

We returned to Epcot for our traditional Mexican feast but first we had to pay a quick visit to our amigo and my character favorito.  Fortunately, he got the memo about our fiesta-wear dress code.  

He gusta'd our sombreros.

We had our dinner at the Mexican pavilion in Epcot which is shaped like the pyramid at Chitzen Itza and, inexplicably, has another pyramid at Chitzen Itza inside it along with a volcano and a river with a charming barco ride.  Of course it was muy delicioso and we capped it off with a fantastico chocolate cake and a boat ride around tiny little Mexico.  Andi also got to purchase some Mexican candy she loves which, I kid you not, consisted of lemon flavor powder and salt because, apparently, Mexican candy companies hate children.  Have you ever played that game where you open a bunch of sugar packets and fill one with salt and then make everyone down theirs and wait to see who's face scrunches up and tries to crawl in to their nose? That is essentially what happened when she had us taste this candy except everyone lost.  There are no winners in Mexican candy eating. Montezuma has spread his wrath beyond the water supply.  

I arranged for a massive fireworks display to occur at the exact same time the normal fireworks go off. Many people did not realize that they were special birthday addition fireworks but I assure you, despite them being in no way different from the normal Illuminations show, these were special fireworks that I totally arranged to cap off the night because I am such. a. good. friend. 

Moral of the story: I planned a giant, multi-step, multi-reservation, craft making, themed birthday extravaganza and absolutely nothing caught on fire.  

In other accomplishment news (for those of you playing along at home pull out your score cards) I reached what I thought was a completely unrealistic goal of earning 10 GSF cards.  My final cards were for story telling which just goes to show you that there are now rewards for being Irish. 

All I'm saying is my boss is named Mickey...

The Thing About Heaven

I would consider myself a fairly religious person but I know that in the world of today it is an unsafe assumption if I were to consider all my readers as such.  That being said, I think everyone has some concept of Heaven.  Whether that be a literal paradise in the afterlife or simply a place, a person, or a moment one would be content to experience for an eternity.  I think this takes many shapes and, for most, the idea of Heaven is a swirl of little things that make us feel... home. Home, I suppose, is the best way to describe Heaven for everyone.  It is, most likely, a swirl of color and sensation that we sort out in our minds to bring us our peace. While this experience must be different for everyone, I think there are a few constants in everyone's Heaven.

1.) The Ones We Love
     There is nothing better than being with the people you love the most.  I am positive that my Heaven will look like my parent's kitchen on a holiday, filled to the bursting with everyone we know and love (and probably a few people one of our relatives has adopted for the occasion since they didn't have a family event planned and that confuses us.)  It can be simpler than that, though.  Recently, my fiance came to visit me here in Disney.  The four days he was with me flew by in such a happy blurr that I am positive that I drove him to and from the airport on the same day.  We spent our days laughing, holding hands and walking through the parks, riding what we could, not worrying if the line was ridiculously long because we were together and happy and I think that might be Heaven.  Sure, he totally kicked my butt at both Toy Story Midway Mania and Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin but, hey, one of us plays video games for fun and the other reads old British murder mysteries. (When someone gets poisoned at the grand duke's dinner party we'll see who's hobby is the most useful...) Sure, we probably ate too many snacks, spent too much time in the sun, stayed up too late, not wanting to be apart a moment longer than we had too, but when I finally collapsed in to my bed after returning him to the airport I felt the heavy exhaustion that comes from having a part of you pulled away abruptly, without ceremony, and only a little against your will.  For me, Heaven  will be with my Prince Charming in a little house with a bright window, a small vase of flowers, and a kettle whistling happily... and possibly a very fat cat.

2.) A Connection to Home, However Fleeting
     No matter what you think about where you grew up, or the place you identify as where you are "from,"  you will always feel a connection to that place and the people from it.  For Pittsburghers like myself, the connection is less "a fond sense of belonging" and more "a borderline patriotic sense of fraternity and loyalty unto death, yinz guys. SIXBURGH!!!!"  What I'm saying is Pittsburghers are a more connected lot than most and when we find each other in foreign territory we get more than a little excited.  When guests read my name tag and see University of Pittsburgh they always have some story related to the city and whenever that story includes "we live there" there is always the rapid fire questions about where exactly and do you know so-and-so or have you been here that always reminds me of the tittering of my girlfriends and I at a middle school sleepover.  We get excited when we find each other because it makes us feel at home.  We are with people who are like us, we're sure of it, simply because we come from the same world.  At home, walking the streets of our own city, we might never speak, might think of each other as totally different with nothing at all to bond over but here, both of us completely out of our territory, we might as well be long lost cousins.  Heaven will always be Pittsburgh for me.
     I have had many princesses from Pittsburgh, and many more that have some connection to the city or the University (thanks to Pitt, most sincerely, for helping with some of my Make a Wish princesses. The fact that they have been in my chair after seeing you means you have done something amazing.)  I had three within the last week that are worth sharing simply because they made me feel so close to home that I still get the warm nose and eye tingles thinking about them.  I met the first princess when I walked up to the podium and saw her mom wearing a button that said "I'm Celebrating!" underneath which she had written in Sharpie "Life!!!"  I said "Now there's the right idea!" nodding to the button.  And then I noticed the head scarf with the pink ribbons under her mouse ears.  She saw my name tag and immediately asked if I would be her girl's Fairy Godmother because my University was the one that made their celebration possible. I was thrilled.  My princess, mom, and big sister burst in to the boutique with laughter and giggles and the appropriate oohs and ahhs and I had more fun in that half hour than I had all day.  They loved my stories, they laughed at every joke (even my most subtle pauses, tone shifts, and facial gestures got the uproarious laughter they doubtless deserve,)  and they talked about home with me.  They are from Mt. Lebanon, a place I have probably only been to once or twice, and I am from the North Hills, a place they assumed was populated entirely by malls, but for that fleeting instant we were family, yinzers, a proud branch of the Steeler Nation abroad and so happy to find someone else who spoke our language.  My next local princess was also from a part of the city I have rarely been too but her aunt had a Slippery Rock University shirt and those just aren't that common.  Upon further inquiry I discovered that her son, my princess's cousin, is in my sister's music class and they live within walking distance of one another.  This princess was perfect, asking all the right questions, prompting all my best stories (see the theme here? Pittsburgh princesses know how to get the best FGIT experience) and generally setting me up to earn my 8th (count 'em) GSF card.  Finally, I had a princess that brought me so close to home that I felt, for just an instant, that if I could only go home for an hour I would.  The family noticed my name tag and started with the traditional "what part of the city are you from?" questions.  They said "North Hills." I said "Me too." They told me the town. It was my home town.  My little, everyone knows almost everyone town.  They told me the neighborhood.  It was mine.  I finally laughed, "Please tell me you don't live on my street or I'm going to feel really bad not recognizing you!" They lived a street over in the newest part of the neighborhood.  They had been on my street, walked across my driveway the day before for the annual garage sale.  We had a great time and my princess was ecstatic with her transformation but I remember, amid the giggles and the princess stories, a pang of jealousy that they had  seen my home, with it's flag waving, it's gigantic, lopsided pear tree, and it's warm, welcoming red front door more recently than I had by a long shot.  Heaven, for me, has a red front door.

3.) Laughter
     What I will miss the most when my time to leave Disney comes is the way my friends and I could get each other laughing so hard we couldn't breathe.  This is a fairly regular thing and, despite the lack of air, I cannot recommend it highly enough.  Everyone should laugh to the point of wheezing at least once a week.  I am positive the giggly, tired feeling the results from this is exactly how everyone feels in Heaven.
     Sam is by far the best person for getting me this way and I think I get her in equal measure.  I once gave a spirited reading of the horrific Harry Potter fanfiction "My Immortal" that took us hours to get through because neither of us could keep from laughing until we cried.  (Do, please, look up that story for a hilarious couple hours you'll never get back.)  Sam nearly caused me to wreck the car once because we, and all our roommates, were driving home from dinner and passing Sea World.  Someone said something about dolphins and I chimed in with my usual dolphin comment, "They kill for fun, you know."  I will never know what Sam was trying to explain because she followed my fun fact with "Like the Danes..."  I laughed so hard I could not stop long enough to ask what she meant by that and by the time I got it together I simply said "That's racist... Rude." and we never bothered to finish the thought.  To this day we simply add "like the Danes" to any description of something horrifying or otherwise inappropriate.

Thai Thursdays:
Scene of more uncontrollable laughter and questions about Asian Culture than anywhere in Orlando

     Often, other guests provide the beautiful laughter I so enjoy.  On my first visit to the Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor (which everyone should do, by the way) Sam, Andi and I were waiting to walk in and were standing next to a couple and their little son who was probably about 4 and very excited.  When the tv screens in the waiting area began showing a video of Mike Wazowski explaining the show this little guy jumped in to a sumo stance, threw his arms out in front of him like he was carrying a huge bundle of something and bellowed "MIKE WAZOWSKI!!!! YEEEEEAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!" We lost it. We laughed and laughed and the more excited this kid got the harder it was to keep it together.  Apparently, Mike is his favorite character and he had yet to see him anywhere.  He totally didn't care what anyone thought because he was beyond a reasonable threshold of excitement.  Everyone should be that excited about Disney.  It is still one of the funniest things I have ever seen.  Heaven is being a four year old and Heaven is laughing like that.

A demonstration. 

4.) People to Make Feel Special
     My job is to make people feel special.  I do it everyday, all day, and I love it.  But in a way, it's expected of me.  Even though each guest is thrilled and often surprised by how special they can feel it is a generally accepted thing that at Disney the Cast Members will make you feel special.  That's why I love doing it out of costume.  I think we all do.  Recently my roomies and I went to Magic Kingdom for a Dole Whip run and decided to get our picture with Mickey and Minnie.  While waiting in line we met a little girl who was celebrating her second birthday and was so excited to meet our boss and the Mrs.  We played with her, made her laugh and smile, and got her to do cute poses while we waited.  By the time it was their turn to go in they asked to bring us with them because we had been most successful at making her smile.  This little princess lost her mind at the sight of Mickey.  Moments before she had been terrified but because she had made friends with us and we had talked about how great Mickey was she felt no fear.  The smile on her parents' faces was almost as wonderful as meeting Mickey.

Meeting the boss.

Aaaaand... promptly having a dance party with him.

5.) Bright Swirls of Color
     I had a Make a Wish princess not too long ago who inspired me to even think about Heaven.  I always ask the princesses about what they like to do and if they don't just tell me stuff I ask them questions like "Do you like to dance like Cinderella? Do you like to sing like Aurora? Do you like to draw like Rapunzel?"  This princess jumped at drawing.  She told me she loved to draw and so I asked her what was her favorite thing to draw.

"Heaven."

My breath caught in my throat but she said it so matter-of-factly that I had to press further.  "How do you know what it looks like, princess?"

"I saw it!" This accompanied by a knowing, almost eye rolling gesture, as if nothing could be more obvious.

Her mom sniffed and I turned to look at her.  She informed me that this princess had indeed technically died for about a minute a year ago during a treatment.  "Is it beautiful, princess?"

"It has all the colors in the whole world! And it's really light! The sun is there all the time!"

She was excited about her drawings for a moment and then moved on to ask me questions about Rapunzel. Afterward, her mom showed me a few of her pictures on her phone.  Bright swirls of colors and always a central point of white that looked like blinding light compared to the whirls around it.  She had bought her a giant box of crayons when the princess explained there were way more colors she needed.


No matter what you believe, whether it be in an afterlife or merely that Heaven is a state of mind, I think Heaven is always a bright swirl of colors. It's moments and people and emotions rushing past and swirling together.  It's waves of happiness and laughter crashing in to shadows of moments lost and people missing and instances you thought were so important that you can barely remember now.  It's the bright, blinding light of home and the enveloping sensation of everyone you love around you.  It swirls around and you feel that exhausted laughter bubbling uncontrollably out of you and the colors are everywhere.  All the colors in the whole world.

"Emma"s and Other Things I Love

It doesn't take much work to take for granted all the little things in life that make one very happy when life, in it's most general form, is delightful.  When essentially everything about one's day to day existence is, quite literally, magical it's fairly easy to lose sight of the individual things that bring an extra large smile.  I know that I typically provide you, my ever loving readers, with specific stories to illustrate this point but I thought it would be a good idea to take a moment and simply list all the things that make me so very happy here in The Happiest Place on Earth.

1. "Princess Emma"s

    When I see the name Emma on my Princess assignment I now audibly cheer.  Emmas are my absolute favorite.  I have literally never had a Princess Emma who was not completely wonderful, fun, and perfectly charming. Some of my earliest princesses were Emmas and they were the ones who helped me to hone my Fairy Godmother persona to the level it is today (which is essentially Giselle from Enchanted but with magic styling powers.)  They are the princesses who forced me to think on my feet and create some of my better stories and the ones who, on more than one occasion, have given me material for stories I had to come up with later with less Emmalike princesses.  Emmas are the best. 

A candid shot of me greeting my princesses.

     I have a theory as to why Emmas are so great with me.  I say they are great with me because I cannot say for certain that the Emma theory holds for all FGITs.  No one else gets so excited when they happen upon an Emma (which happens rarer and rarer all the time as they now like to save them for me) so I have to assume that perhaps the magic of an Emma is meant for me exclusively.  Perhaps other FGITs have Sarahs, or Carolines, or, despite it not being a people name, Brooklyns.  Emmas are mine and I believe there is a grand cosmic reason for it.  My great grandmother was named Emma (for the few of you reading this who are not related to me) and she was exactly the same sort of delightful, funny, charming, and quick thinking as my Emmas.  It took me a bit to realize but the reason I adore my Emmas is the same reason I adored her, they are so truly positive.  They are genuinely happy to be where they are at that moment and to be there with you, whoever you are, because you are happy to be there too.  Emmas and I get along the same way my great grandmother Emma got along with everyone.  They exude happiness and the more you give them the more you get right back.  They always arrive when I'm at a low point in the day and I know, for certain, that it is Grammy Emma sending them my way to brighten my spirits and challenge my princess story abilities.

2. Being Tan

    Let me preface this by saying that I have not been anything that could be confused for tan since I was about 14.  As a kid I turned brown like a nut.  My hair would bleach to the bright, glaring white that would someday define my skin tone and my skin would turn to a shade typically reserved for people with more scholarship worthy ethnic heritages.  Until I came to Florida my summer tone has been more of a tragic reminder of Victorian cosmetic trends than anything else and so I am more than a little excited that I am one of the tannest people I know.  The joy of having truly nothing to do beyond going to work and the basic survival activities associated with living on your own is that I have a lot of time to read by the pool and go to the beach with my roommates.  

We went to the beach because it was Thursday. (Side note: I also love my purple swim suit.)

3. "So you wanna go to Magic Kingdom?"

     This phrase has become so common place in my life that it will be nearly impossible to attempt to make free time plans without first suggesting Magic Kingdom even long after I live much too far away.  I love that I can go to the parks for free whenever I want and I love the casual, we'll-get-there-when-we-get-there attitude it has instilled in my park going self.  Because I can go for free I feel no guilt about going to the a park for a specific snack, maybe a little shopping, a a quick run on a favorite ride or two.  My roommate Sam (pictured above right) and I typically have the same two days off and so she and I are masters of the "well, we've spent all day at the pool/beach/mall so I guess we should hit a park now" attitude.  We also enjoy spending an entire day cruising from park to park with no particular goal in mind other than to take in as much as we can and maybe have a Dole Whip.  

4. Dole Whip, Casey's Hot Dogs, and Caramel Apples on Main Street

5. Commenting on Guest's Buttons

     Disney has perfected the art of making people feel special no matter what is going on in their lives.  One of the myriad ways we accomplish this is with buttons.  These are large pins that indicate something special is going on in the life of the wearer (birthdays, anniversaries, marriages, family reunions, etc.) and, to the trained eye, they are particularly great conversation starters or an easy way to make a passer by feel important.  All the buttons have a different main color so that even if you're too far away to actually read what it says you, as a cast member or particularly observant guest, can comment on it immediately upon encountering the person so that it seems as if you just knew about it.  People just knowing things about you makes you feel special.  I love, either in character or as a guest, wishing little kids happy birthday because it just straight up blows their minds.  The funny thing about the buttons is guests almost immediately forget they are wearing them and are often shocked how so many people know it's their birthday.

6. Being Mistaken for a Princess

     This happens in a couple different ways and I honestly love it every time.  Sometimes guests assume that I, in FGIT costume, am some sort of princess and treat me as such.  They point me out to their children or ask if they can have a picture with the princess.  I should probably correct them but, really, I totally answer to princess.  I do that in my real life.  Why stop now?  Possibly the best example of this confusion occurred recently after work when I made a stop at the Panera near my apartment.  I had removed my vest which has the boutique logo and my name tag so that I was wearing a lavender blouse and skirt and veil and looked like a particularly gaudy Amish woman rather than a FGIT and was just exiting the store with my Bacon Turkey Bravo when I spotted a little girl about 3 years old come tearing up the sidewalk in my direction.  My line of sight has been permanently altered to about the height of a 3 to 6 year old because that is who I am looking for and talking to all day.  I genuinely don't notice adults in crowds because I am spending all my time looking about 3 feet off the ground.  As this little one came barreling toward me I crouched and quickly dropped my bag as I heard her squealing "Daddy! A princess!" Instantly, I am in character.  "Hello, Princess! It's so good to see you!" She hugged me from a dead run, nearly toppling me over. She giggled away about how she was so happy to see me and I was the first princess she had gotten to meet.  I talked to her about coming to Disney and how it was her first visit and the ice cream cone she had left her dad holding.  We walked back to her parents hand in hand and she introduced me to them as "Princess" and they thanked me for being so patient.  I smiled and said I would be happy to be a princess any day.  

     Another good example of this is one that occurred when I was out of costume and at the park as a guest.  I was waiting in line for something and a princess and her parents were waiting behind me.  The princess had a birthday button and so, of course, I wished her a happy birthday and inquired about how old she was turning.  She was 4 that day.  I asked her about how she was celebrating, if this was her first trip to Disney, had it been a surprise she was coming, what had she done so far, etc. as is my usual habit when a princess sits in my chair.  I crouched down to talk to her because it was polite and eventually ended up with the both of us sitting right where we were, she Indian style and I with my legs to the side and the skirt of my sun dress spread out around me in a circle the way I always move my costume skirt (the princess story time sit is a hard habit to break) until it was time for us to both board the attraction.  As I moved to get in to my car I heard the mom whisper, smiling, to the dad "I think we ended up meeting Cinderella today after all..." There was no way I was going to correct them. 

7. Knights who Love Princesses

     We offer a package at the boutique for little guys where we transform them in to a handsome and brave knight.  Essentially, if they sit still for 10 minutes or so while we spike their hair, paint it colors, and throw some sparkle on it they get to have a foam sword and shield and hit stuff all day.  The foam weaponry is often all that is keeping the knights from completely bailing but every now and then it is love that puts the noble gentleman in the seat.  There is nothing more adorable than a knight who is there with his sister, cousin, or friend and is doing this because he wants to be able to protect her from dragons, pirates, and other dangerous fiends out to harm fair damsels.  These sweet princes remind me of what I assume my fiance must have been like as a little guy and I love them all the more for it.  Just recently I had a knight who was being transformed in the chair next to his princess.  I learned that she was his best friend, they had met in pre-school (they were in first grade now) and that she had informed him that they were getting married.  I asked him if this had been his idea. He said in a manner so familiar to me as someone engaged to quite a prince myself, "No, but I'm ok with it.  I'm not gonna marry anybody else." Then he grinned like the man in love that he was and allowed me to finish painting his mohawk.  Years from now, when they do get married, I hope they show the pictures they got post transformation.  If they don't get married to each other, I will have to step in. 

Let's just marry them off now to be safe. Betrothal is still a thing, right?

  

Death by Ponytail

Very rarely at the boutique do I feel my heart leap in to my throat and my mind race with panic.  In fact, other than my very first princess I have never felt particularly terrified.  That changed the other day when I was absolutely positive that I had killed a princess.

My princess was very sweet and talkative and dressed as an adorable Sleeping Beauty.  We were chatting away and I had gotten to the point where I was ready to roll her hair into the fairytale bun. I had asked her a question about her favorite princess, Sleeping Beauty, she had answered, and I had started to ask her another question when her chin dropped to her chest rather suddenly.  "Princess, did you turn in to Sleeping Beauty?" I laughed, thinking she was joking around. That was when her whole body went limp and she pitched forward in the chair. I threw my arm around her waist, fortunately in time to prevent her falling out of the chair and on to her head.  From this angle I could see her face and realized her entire body was paper white.  Her lips blended seamlessly in to pallid cheeks and perfectly, horrifyingly still eyelids. I looked around frantically for her aunt and grandmother.  I was holding her chest and couldn't feel any movement. Nothing was moving.

Did I pull the ponytail too tight? Have I cut off the circulation to her brain? Oh God, is that even possible?! Oh my God, this is how it's going to end. I've murdered a princess.

As her grandmother rushed over I called "Fairy Godmother Rose! Come here right now!" as calmly and sweetly as I could while holding a most likely dead child.  She came over and after asking her aunt and grandmother if they wanted us to call as paramedic (Please call. Please call someone, anyone, who can maybe, just maybe, not let this girl be dead in my chair.) Fortunately, they said yes and as another mother who happened to be a nurse applied cool cloths to the princess's neck her eyes fluttered open and some color returned to her face.

Oh thank God... The paramedics rushed in and I was allowed to let go of the princess, although they had to gently move my arm for me as I was apparently not going to let go of my own accord.  I hovered while the paramedics looked her over and got her talking in bits and pieces.  Occasionally someone would ask a question or try to move me and I would say in an entirely detached voice "That's my princess" without looking away from her still too pale face. I answered the paramedics questions about her name, age, and where she was from.  For some reason I felt compelled to add, "Her favorite princess is Sleeping Beauty. Isn't that funny..."

After what seemed like an eternity the paramedics had her pretty stable and explained that she was severely dehydrated.  She had apparently not been drinking much water to begin with and she had recently started taking a medication for an ear infection that was supposed to be taking with water which only made matters worse.  They determined that she didn't need to be taken to the hospital immediately but should go after they finished up.  The paramedics left and my princess looked up and, ignoring the mass of people swirling around and fussing at her, stared at me and whimpered "Can I still have my sparkles?"

I descended upon her as relieved as if she had been my own child.  We finished her hair, applied eye and lip makeup (leaving cheeks clean to watch her coloring) and sent the nail polish home with her (to monitor oxygen) and made sure she got as much sparkle as she could possibly stand.

I signed her autograph book "To my Sleeping Beauty..."
  

When I See an Elephant Fly

First, my blog loves, please accept my sincerest apologies for leaving you for the past week. I know you were waiting on baited breath to hear of my every exploit but fear not! I have returned with much to report. Some of it is even interesting!

Primarily, I have to share about the new section of Fantasyland that had its soft opening last night.  Some of my fellow FGITs and I scooted straight over to the Magic Kingdom after work and (after a quick hotdog break at Casey's Corner) bolted for the back of Fantasyland, past the teacups and through a formerly walled off area to emerge in to the most beautifully colorful circus I have ever seen.

Picture this with me and three other grown women screeching 

While only a small portion of the Storybook Circus section opened it was still so exciting to be there on the very first day it was open to the public.  Only two attractions are up and running at the moment (and Dumbo is only at half capacity, really.) Dumbo has undergone quite the face lift and is looking stunning.

*shing* *sparkle sparkle*

A perennial favorite among people too scared to ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, the Barnstormer has returned as the exact same ride but rethemed as The Great Goofini's stunt show.  The prop work is actually, not surprisingly, really hilarious. Lemme show you...

Ticket Booth Entrances

A previous production, no doubt successful

Another former show, obviously more successful than the last.

I knew I was with the right people because not only did my fellow FGITs start chanting "Goofy! Goofy!" as soon as we boarded, but the entire train got in on it. Then we all started laughing when the operator said, over the mike, "Have we got some cast members here?" and everyone on the train threw up their hands and cheered. We screamed louder that whole ride than any other car and everyone attempted the the Goofy yell.  When we returned to the station the FGITs and I yellled "Another round!" and waved our arms around as if buying shots for the whole car.  (This is apparently a thing people do in places other than rap videos, I am told.)  I cannot wait for the rest of the new Fantasyland to open but for now I am content with riding the Barnstormer over and over. Preferably without having to get off between runs.

And now a little housekeeping:

We recently had apartment inspections which occur twice during our program to make sure we aren't putting on amateur wrestling competitions and smashing the chairs or smuggling illegal immigrants or cats or watching Song of the South and telling people about it.  In order to prepare for this inspection we proceeded to erase all evidence of us living here, essentially. Bleach was involved and a great deal of my Disney purchases, which previously lived under my bed in several shopping bags (I have a souvenir problem... I'm dealing with it...) moved to the trunk of my car for the day.  This speedy stuffed animal exodus was well worth it, however, when we received the White Glove Award for an exceptionally clean apartment. As a token of appreciation for not having 40 cats and 8 migrant workers living in our apartment (like I wanted) we were gifted a massive box of Ferrero Rocher chocolate.  We felt quite fancy dividing them up and hording them away like gilded chipmunks, all while cackling maniacally as I brought back in the souvenir army and we returned our overly large collection of magnets to the fridge.

My fiance was in town this week (thus my radio silence) along with his family.  I was very happy to see them all and, of course, especially happy to see him.  It has been agreed by the FGITs that he looks like Prince Phillip and so he can stay.  He met me at work.  I was Pixie Dusting and looked up from my most recent small child to see him.  My eyes felt hot but in a good way and I flitted over and hugged him openly, no doubt coating him in glitter.  All the FGITs, who were standing around as the night was nearly over, oohed appropriately and I have never changed out of my costume faster than I did that night.  It was wonderful to have him here with me at my favorite place in the world.  We spent wonderful days at the park and had a great trip to the beach where I acquired the newest level of my wicked tan (not even kidding, guys.)  Most importantly, I convinced my dearest love to ride the Rockin' Roller Coaster.  This was essential because, although I did not share this with him before hand, our impending nuptials were severely threatened by the knowledge that I would have to single rider all the best rides for my entire married life until I had kids.  And what if my kids turned out lame? The threat was too much.  Fortunately, the thrill of the coaster was too much not to enjoy and I have converted him to a fan.  The wedding is still on. Mark your calenders for that date I swear I'll set soon. Honestly.

Darn. I knew I was supposed to be planning a wedding while I was down here...

 

Princess Rose and Other Stories

Pixie dusting is my favorite thing to do as a Fairy Godmother. I get to go out among the people who otherwise may not have experienced some Disney magic that day and spread the love (and glitter. Mostly the glitter.) It is also the time I encounter my more strange and, sometimes, wonderful stories.

Case in point: I have finally figured out how to say the spell in Spanish which always startles and delights Spanish speaking visitors. I can't understand this as I am clearly of Latin descent ( Scandinavia is Latin, right?) but none the less they are surprised to hear someone who uses the absolute lightest foundation color available speak Spanish, however poorly. The trouble comes when they then assume, not unreasonably, that I speak and understand Spanish. I have answered more questions with blank stares and frantic jumblings of the vocabulary I know than in my entire history of science classes ("so that means the moon is in phase 4, or metaphase, and should be waxing gibbons by the time it splits in to two moons... Right?") but at least they appreciate my efforts. Unlike the French who can just go right back to EuroDisney for all I care. You smell oddly off putting. This is not true for all French speakers. The Canadian politeness out does the French tendency toward rudeness in my visitors from Quebec and Montreal. Canadians can't help but be delightful. It's a national affliction. When I am treated rudely by a French guest for mutilating their language in an attempt to communicate with them since they didn't bother to learn even terrible English before arriving I smile and remind myself that without Americans speaking poor French they would be speaking really polished German. In my head I am Rick Blaine and of all the Disney Parks in all the world the walked in to mine...

I have gotten used to people taking pictures with me as long as I don't over think it (which, of course, I do on a regular basis.) It is not weird for me to take a picture with them because I think of them as people and I know I am a people but to them I am essentially a prop. I am not a real person and am more akin to the giant Lego sculpture of a dragon. This is weird. Almost as weird as when they take a picture of me rather than with me. Much like the castle I am an interesting object that should be snapped so as to recall it later. I just recently mastered the pose I like best (an overly dramatic curtsy I see the princesses use when photographed solo but with the fun addition of an outstretched wand! Glitter! Ya!) but only because there must be more pictures of me in Asian countries than of David Hasselhoff. And they love the Hoff.

Mostly, though, Pixie dusting is where I meet some truly delightful people and get to out delight them (or get coated in sparkles trying.) An entire family of adults approached for dusting recently and each forced the others to get their glitter on. Wendy and I worked through everyone (twin sisters who had to go at the same time, the bald grandfather who wished for flowing locks, everyone) except for grandma who thought she could hide by smiling in the back of the crowd. "Come on, mom! You have to! It's your birthday!" I closed in on this detail like a hawk on a poorly watched pet guinea pig. "Your birthday, Princess? Well you have to make a wish now. Pixie dust is especially powerful on birthdays." she acquiesced and everyone clapped when she got dusted. As they all clustered for pictures I asked her son what the birthday princess's name was. "Rose. She's 80 today." I disappeared in to the boutique and made up a birthday button like we give the girls that says "Happy Birthday Princess Yournamehere" and coated it with glitter (of course) and returned to the group. "Princess Rose," I stepped close to her, "when a princess celebrates a birthday the entire kingdom must know so they can celebrate too. As the birthday Princess you have to wear this button all vacation long so that everyone can wish you a happy birthday and treat you extra special. If they don't you can, of course, banish them to Universal Studios." Her smile was so big and she eagerly turned to her husband and said "Put it on me! Put it on me!" General happiness all around and off they went but her son, who had told me her age, stopped me. "That was really awesome." I started to tell him it's just how we do things here but he continued, "you made a really special day even better. Not only is today her birthday but it was also the day of her first grandson's wedding. That's why we're all here." I said "Congratulations!" "Thank you. Really."

She just might be my favorite princess. Even if I couldn't show off my rudimentary Spanish.

They call me "The Princess Whisperer"

Sometimes princesses are less than thrilled with the idea of having a makeover. Sometimes I suspect it wasn't their idea in the first place and other times I chalk it up to nerves and that panicky sensation everyone gets when confronted with a crowd that's all looking at you. Either way, occasionally we encounter a princess who says "no way" and it is on these occasions where I step in. They call me "the princess whisperer."

The trick is being entirely honest with the princess and being gentle. Not physically gentle, although that helps, but you have to keep your voice and body language gentle. I am particularly determined to convince princesses because I was the sort of princess who would have wimped out and I know how much one instantly regrets that. I barely ever sat on Santa's lap and, standing a safe distance away, I would watch the other kids and try to convince myself I could be brave enough. In hindsight, the less time I spent on strange men's laps the better but still, I get it.

To date I have a 100% success rate and I have convinced 7 princesses not to miss out on something that ends up being a really good time. All 7 have been deliriously happy with the results. So have I.

Using "deliriously happy" as a segway... As I was watching the Electrical Parade the Fairy Godmother passed on the back of Cinderella's float and I waved excitedly at my role model. She waved back, pointed right at me, and made a heart shape with her hands. I squealed so loud a little girl in front of me gave me the "calm down" face. Whatever. I am so earning my wings on the accelerated path.

Frequently Asked Questions

As a Fairy Godmother in Training I get asked a lot of questions about what I do and the various important people I am associated with in that role.  While in some situations we have answers somewhat prepared for us (after all, there are FGITs who have been there since the beginning and they have been asked everything under the sun) most often we have to think on our feet how best to explain things to our princesses in a way that preserves the magic without talking to them like they are dumb. Princesses aren't dumb and you would be shocked how astute the average six year old is.  (For example, a six year old could have thought of a way to phrase that sentence so that it would be grammatically correct.)  It occurred to me that some of my readers may also be wondering about the intricacies of Fairy Godmother life and so I have listed below some of my most frequently asked questions and a general version of how I answer them. These are in no particular order other than "oh yeah, that reminds me of this one..."

1. "So you're a real Fairy Godmother?"
      No, not exactly.  I'm a Fairy Godmother in Training which is different.  Fairy Godmothers have to go through a 1000 year training program before they earn their wings, so to speak, and are allowed to operate entirely on their own with a Princess for all of her Princess problems. I've only been in training for 237 years, as of this past October, so I've got a ways to go before I'm ready for my final exam.  I have to turn an entire field of pumpkins in to luxuriously appointed coaches (with snacks!), staff them all with mice I've turned in to footmen and drivers, dress my Princess impeccably for a ball, send her off in the carriage of her choice and make sure she's back and everything is restored to normal by midnight.  I've never been particularly good at timed tests and I keep turning my pumpkin coaches in to pumpkin pies. I probably shouldn't practice when I'm hungry.  But in the mean time I'm training to make Princesses beautiful here on the days when I'm not in classes with Cinderella's Fairy Godmother.

2. "Why did you become a Fairy Godmother?"
     I was 220 years old and not doing much with my magic.  I mostly used it to bake cupcakes. Tons and tons of beautiful, delicious cupcakes.  While this was fun I just felt like I should be doing more with my life and one day, when I was visiting Disney World, I heard about these Fairy Godmothers who were using their powers to make princesses feel beautiful and happy and I thought "Hey, I think I could do that!"  So I marched up to the castle and banged on the door.  When the doorman opened it he looked at me with some confusion and said "Can I help you?"  I told him I was here to see the Fairy Godmother and he went to get her.  I waited and waited and was getting very nervous but the mice kept assuring me I would be fine.  Finally the Fairy Godmother appeared.  I started to tell her why I was there but she silenced me with a smile and looked me up and down for a long time, not saying anything, until I was convinced she was going to send me back to my cupcakes.  Then, suddenly, she said "Allright, deary, I'll teach you but you'll have to train for 1000 years. Can you do that?"  I said I could and I've been here ever since.

3. "Where do you live?"
      We all get to live in the castle with Cinderella so that we can ask the Fairy Godmother for help whenever we need it.  In exchange for getting to live in the castle we have to clean Cinderella's room.  Now this doesn't seem so bad until you realize what a shoe problem Cindy has.  She is absolutely incapable of keeping track of her shoes and they are absolutely everywhere.  Organizing them is an exercise in futility but we try.

4.  "Where do all the Princesses live?"
      Cinderella lives in the big castle in the Magic Kingdom, of course.  Princess Aurora has her main castle in California at Disneyland but she likes to come and visit Cinderella here which is why you see her around a lot.  Princess Tiana lives in Liberty Square and spends most of her time in the garden behind the Christmas shop because she loves the flowers.  Belle's castle is getting remodeled right now -- she's having a second library built for all of her books -- so she's staying with some friends in Epcot France.  Ariel is also having some work done on her castle -- a larger pool -- so she's staying with Cinderella.  Jasmine likes to stay in Epcot Morocco because it reminds her of home.  Mulan is the same way with Epcot China.  Rapunzel is a tricky one to find because she's always running off.  See, every time she sees the fireworks, she thinks it's the lights and wants to go see where they come from and takes off.  We always get her back, though, and she usually spends the day near the Castle.  Snow White used to live in that little cottage in the forest with the Seven Dwarfs but, really, a one room cottage just isn't large enough for 8 people -- 9 now that she and Prince Ferdinand have gotten married -- so it's being remodeled to suit their space needs a little better.  Fortunately for all the Princesses, the renovations on all their homes should be done sometime toward the end of this year.  (*Look up the new Fantasyland expansion if none of this makes sense to you. Then feel guilty about what a bad Disney fan you are.)

5. "Do you do all the Princesses' hair?"
     Yes, every morning very early all the Princesses come in to get ready for their day at the parks.  Each Princess has her usual chair which are labeled on our cards.  (*This is true. Our chair number cards each have a Princess on the back so the same Princess is always assigned to the same seat.  They really do have chairs, in a way.  These cards serve as good proof for the doubting Princess.)  Rapunzel actually has two chairs, one for her and one for the rest of her hair.  It takes at least three FGITs to brush and braid her hair every day but she's always so patient and usually paints us a picture while she waits.  This is always a fun time for the Princesses who can catch up with one another and gossip about the Princes and complain about their various evil parents or other nemeses.  It's good to let it all out before starting a day being cheerful.

6. "Who is your favorite Princess?"
     Who is yours?

7. "Who is your favorite Prince?"
     Aladdin. Aladdin all day.  Also, Prince Eric, because we both love boats. And The Beast, because he is awesome. Not the Prince The Beast turns back in to, the actual Beast.  That Prince is a girly man. The Beast is essentially a giant teddy bear.

8.  "Are you marrying a Prince?"
     This question comes up with some of the older Princesses who notice my ring and understand what it means.  If someone where to ask me this question in my non-character life (as if this exists... please...) I would, without hesitation, answer yes.  My fiance is the definition of a Prince if you take out all the royal bloodline stuff and replace it with charming qualities.  But, as a Fairy Godmother, I can't marry a Prince. They marry Princesses. This is the law of the fantasy jungle.  So, instead, I explain it like this:  I am marrying a brilliant wizard who lives in a far away kingdom way up in the north.  He spends all day inventing new things and creating spells to make people's lives easier so they can be happy. He's my very best friend.  When the parents look at me skeptically rather than just enjoying my brilliant storytelling I mention quietly, "Engineer" and they all nod knowingly.

9.  "Is Mickey a good boss? / Is the Fairy Godmother a good teacher?"
    The short answer to either of these questions is "Yes."  Mickey Mouse is an excellent boss.  His big ears make him a great listener.  He's always smiling and telling us to have a magical day.  He knows how to put on a great show and he's an all around nice guy.  I couldn't imagine working for a better boss.
    The Fairy Godmother is an excellent teacher, if a bit absent minded.  She's very patient and doesn't even get upset when we entirely ruin a whole field of pumpkins.  I think I'm learning a lot from her and I certainly love what I do and I owe that entirely to her.

10.  "Voce fala Portugues?"
       Que?


The Princesses are not the only ones who have some questions.  Below are a few questions I ask frequently (and what I assume the answers must be.)

What is this wet stuff on my car in the morning and why can't I scrape it off?  How does one remove moisture if it isn't in a solid state?
-- Ice that is confused about what time of year it is. With a Shamwow.
If your child is screaming and crying and begging you to not make her do the Princess transformation why do you make her do it?
-- Because I haven't got the number for child services memorized yet.
What would make you assume this makeover is a free service?
-- Because that is how it works in Brazil and New Jersey? (I have only encountered this with Brazillian people and New Jersey natives.  If I encounter it with other people I will have to assume this free makeover thing is more widespread than I imagined.
Did everyone in your tour group call each other and make sure you were all going to wear super tight pants and massive sneakers today?
-- I will never know because I don't speak Portuguese.
Why do you randomly have left lanes turn suddenly in to turn only lanes with no signage? Are you trying to encourage drivers to spastically whip from lane to lane and make dramatic U Turns without signalling? Are you actively working to keep the reputation that Florida drivers are the absolute worst on the planet?
-- Clearly, yes.

The Great and Terrible

I have the very rare privilege of having a job where my primary responsibility is to make people happy AND I have the tools necessary to accomplish this.  It makes my job less of a job and more of one in a series of fun activities I'm doing in a day.  I am also very fortunate that I am, and I am not exaggerating this, an exceedingly happy person.  I very rarely break character even when not working.  I pretty much have been in character since my first day with the rare exception of extreme moments of frustration (mostly GPS related.)  In fact, me in character is essentially me in real life with a higher pitched voice and the tendency to ask several questions and repeat your answers back to you with a question mark at the end.

It should also be noted that I simply am not interested in being sad.  This is not to say that I don't get sad because I do. (I'm not a robot or Batman. It happens.)  What I mean is that I have simply decided I've been sad enough in my life and I'd prefer to be sad as little as possible in the future.  In any situation if I have the option to be sad or any other of the wide range of human emotions, 9 times out of 10, I will choose the other emotion (cheerful or sardonic being my first choices.)  My relationship with my tears mirrors that of the United States' relationship with oil.  In my youth I let them gush at the slightest provocation with no concern for how wastefully I let them spill all over.  There would always be more and the drama of them bursting forth seemed entirely justified.  Now, if I deign to let a few drops out I must be entirely at the end of my patience or the situation is something truly heart wrenching (like that montage scene from Up. You know exactly what I'm talking about. Don't even pretend you don't.)

I'm not detailing this so that you will picture me like Bruce Willis in Die Hard.  I just want it to be clear that my reaction to the following story is not a typical one for me and that it was one of the few times when I hoped upon hope that my Pixie Dust could be more than sparkly.

It's like starring in to a mirror, I swear.

When I met my Princess at the door she was wearing a pink baseball cap. I talked with her and her family throughout the check in process and it was not until she climbed in to my chair that I realized she had only the shortest of blonde bristles for hair.  I had been distracted entirely by her abundance of freckles and enormous blue eyes to realize that there was no pony tail popping out of the back of her cap.  I paused for a beat but immediately began making conversation so as not to appear rude.  I started by painting my Princess's nails and asking her my standard questions.  

What do I do? How do I even ask what to do? Has someone else noticed this? Please, someone, tell me how we handle this!

Another FGIT who has been there much longer than I have approached and, noticing my Princess had selected a Belle dress, asked if she would also like the Belle wig.  Another beat but instead of looking at the wig I watched my Princess looking at the wig.  

She doesn't even understand why she would want that. She likes exactly how she looks right now.  At four she has more beauty confidence than women at 40.

I interrupted the pause, "I think you are so beautiful just the way you are right now, Princess. What do you think?" She nodded and smiled and her freckles bunched together as her cheeks rose to meet the bottoms of her eyes.  As I worked on her makeup I asked questions to her and the family about their trip.  It was their first trip.  Mom and the Grandparents planned it and Dad got leave from Afghanistan to be there.  It was the trip of a lifetime.  For my Princess, it would be the only visit.  

I Pixie Dusted her short hair, all the while assuring her that short haired girls had more fun.  That was why I cut mine off. 

"I used to have long, long hair like Rapunzel's but then I realized that the shorter your hair is the more fun you get to have.  So I just kept cutting it and you see how short it is now.  I have more fun than ever!"

Before the big reveal I usually make my girls promise not to peek or something along those lines but with this Princess I knelt down and asked her to promise me something more important.  

"Princess, before I turn you around and show you how beautiful you are I want you to promise me something, ok?" She nodded, blue eyes wide with excitement.  "Promise me that every time you see yourself in a mirror for the rest of your life you will always see how beautiful you are.  Promise?" I held out my pinky for the universal seal of a deal.  She locked her pinky in mine and said she promised.  

I turned her around and she squealed and clapped with delight.  Cameras flashed, her parents, teary eyed, thanked me and took their princess on her way.  I watched them walk all the way out of the store before another FGIT moved me off stage.  My eyes were burning and as soon as the door clicked shut I did not even attempt to stop the flow of tears.

I could feel the inside of my chest aching, my limbs tingling.  I was every emotion at once.  Happy because I had made my Princess happy, angry because it wasn't fair what was happening to her and her family, frustrated because no amount of glitter and nail polish would ever fix it, and sad because my heart was breaking for this beautiful little girl who, at four years old, was stronger and more beautiful than I could ever be.  

I completely broke character. 

The Holy Land Experience

I went to the Holy Land Experience, a Bible based theme park, with my grandma and great aunt. While I appreciated the message I was put off by how cheerful everyone was. I had a fantastic time but as a Catholic, if I don't feel the weight of intense personal guilt for Jesus dying I just don't feel religious.

I took several pictures. Draw your own conclusions.