Thanks for Nothing Cinderella...

I suppose it isn't entirely too surprising that all over the world girls both young and old are getting their hearts broken on a daily basis, and I will be the one to say it; I blame Cinderella. From as far back as I can recall I have known the story of Cinderella, a classic for all tiny princesses. Cinderella captivates the prince in just moments, he is the most handsome and the richest of men; he is, of course, a prince. He in turns searches high and low to find her and rescues her from her life of oppression and servitude for the good life at the royal palace. 

Cinderella is a magically, wonderfully, incomplete story of love. 

It is no wonder that at 16 I was prepared to be "rescued" by my prince. My boyfriend at the time promised me all the riches in the world, the castle to live in, the happily ever after, and as a bonus he would free me from the prison that was my parents. At the time, this seemed a fabulous idea, it worked for Cinderella right? It is a wonder that I did not lose it all in the quest for my Cinderella story because I almost walked away from all I knew and loved at the time and ultimately ended up broken hearted. 

It was again no surprise again that when I met my first husband who was the total "Prince Package" that I married him even though I knew it would ultimately end. My head told me it was a mistake but marrying him made me Cinderella. I got the beautiful gown and the beautiful pictures to place together in my very own Cinderella story book (purchased for me by his mom of course). The problem is that Cinderella doesn't teach us what to do when Prince Charming sleeps with another girl, hurts us physically or emotionally, or makes us forget our worth. Cinderella doesn't teach us how to walk away from the wrong man and fight for the right one. Cinderella is failing her tiny princesses everywhere. 

I don't mean this to sound cynical by any means, because I want Liv to believe in fairy tales and happily ever afters, I just want her to believe in real life versions. I want her to know that love is not always fancy dresses, magic wishes, and being rescued; that Cinderella has to make sacrifices, openly communicate and be honest and loyal to Prince Charming. I want her to know that Prince Charming's come in all shapes and sizes and that there is more to love than looks, money,  and the size of his castle (ha, ha get your minds out of the gutter, this is sweet, not dirty).  I want her to know that even though he may not always love her exactly as she had planned it doesn't mean he doesn't love her with all that he has, and that he is worth fighting for. And even when she finds her Prince Charming and realizes he is not quite the man she had pictured in her dreams, he might just be her happily ever after. 

For the record, I found my Prince Charming, how about you?