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| A little princess dust |
Close your eyes and imagine being pampered, dressed up, and made to feel like a princess. Can you see it? Can you picture yourself walking into a room with little stations where you collect a tiara, have your makeup and hair done, and finally get sparkled?! Your look wouldn't be complete without a dress and shoes to match! The next station consists of dresses (all donated) and flip flops you can choose from and take home. Tables are adorned with necklaces and earrings and sashes. After you are dressed and ready you move on to the throne where you have your picture taken by a professional photographer. You are then escorted down the red carpet by a Prince and welcomed into the ballroom for a tea party. As you reach the ballroom entrance, your royal name is announced. Cheers can be heard around the room as some girls dance and others sit and have tea and snacks. Can you picture it?
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| Snacks for a princess! |
Now think about the girls sitting at these tables... from all walks of life. Some have been adopted, some are in the process of their adoption and soon to go home, and some are still in the various stages of the life of a child in foster care. There were little girls and older girls... all of them were princesses. If you were like me, you couldn't tell the difference between which girls were adopted and which were still waiting for their forever family. Most girls just looked happy and really seemed to soak in all the extra attention. You could, however, see some of the little girls who were more independent and when you looked around to see who they might be with there was nobody around. Then there were others who clung to their Queens hand and never let go to begin their own little adventure.
One little girl walked up to me and so sweetly asked, "Would you like to dance?" I accepted and we spun around the dance floor a few times. I called my daughter over hoping she would enjoy dancing with her and this little girl would find a new friend... someone who had been where she was standing. But, when the song ended she did a small curtsy and moved on to the next adult on the floor. My heart broke for this little girl who could not find one hand to hold... to stay with and have a second dance. My heart broke that she did not find comfort in dancing with the other little girls, but that she just moved from one big person to the next. Her little face housed a sweet smile with lots of missing teeth but her eyes betrayed how she was truly feeling. There was no sparkle and no glow... Just going through the motions of taking life a dance at a time and asking anyone she passed by to have a go round with her. I pray she finds a mommy or daddy to love her and to dance with her all of her days- whether a dance of joy or mourning, that she will not have to keep moving from one person to the next.
Being there made me appreciate that our adoption is final and that we are settled in. During all the fun my daughter was so focused on her experience that she forgot to stop and think about others around her. My girl struggles with her body in space at times. Her mind is one million miles away as she walks or dances or simply has her being. We work on being aware of our body in space so that she does not walk in front of cars, run into people, or anything else that can happen when we are so lost in our thoughts that we forget to pay attention to our surroundings. While at the tea party she got lost in her moment and was spinning around the dance floor and I could just see that her mind was so far away... But unlike the little girl who was searching out dance partners, I saw my daughter's eyes sparkling and her smile widen. I watched as a little girl who has been through unimaginable things was being healed. Secure enough to go dance and feel like a princess and loved enough to accept the consequence of sitting by mom for awhile for not paying attention to others around her and almost knocking other little kiddos down. In that moment, like so many others that have come before and those that will certainly come again, she knew what it felt like to be my daughter. She knew I supported her and loved her and wanted to see her shine and smile... but that I would be there to hold her accountable and teach her and show her how to become a well mannered and cultured young woman. In that moment I could sit her down and we both knew it didn't mean that I loved her any less, but that I was simply being her mom and she my daughter. In the end I like to think she learned the difference between being A Princess for the Day and being MY Princess for a Lifetime.
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| Princess for A Day! |
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| My Princess for a Lifetime! |
Yesterday we attended the Princess for a Day event hosted by A Family For Every Child (our adoption agency). You can check them out here: http://www.afamilyforeverychild.org/
Close your eyes and imagine being pampered, dressed up, and made to feel like a princess. Can you see it? Can you picture yourself walking into a room with little stations where you collect a tiara, have your makeup and hair done, and finally get sparkled?! Your look wouldn't be complete without a dress and shoes to match! The next station consists of dresses (all donated) and flip flops you can choose from and take home. Tables are adorned with necklaces and earrings and sashes. After you are dressed and ready you move on to the throne where you have your picture taken by a professional photographer. You are then escorted down the red carpet by a Prince and welcomed into the ballroom for a tea party. As you reach the ballroom entrance, your royal name is announced. Cheers can be heard around the room as some girls dance and others sit and have tea and snacks. Can you picture it?
Now think about the girls sitting at these tables... from all walks of life. Some have been adopted, some are in the process of their adoption and soon to go home, and some are still in the various stages of the life of a child in foster care. There were little girls and older girls... all of them were princesses. If you were like me, you couldn't tell the difference between which girls were adopted and which were still waiting for their forever family. Most girls just looked happy and really seemed to soak in all the extra attention. You could, however, see some of the little girls who were more independent and when you looked around to see who they might be with there was nobody around. Then there were others who clung to their Queens hand and never let go to begin their own little adventure. 
Being there made me appreciate that our adoption is final and that we are settled in. During all the fun my daughter was so focused on her experience that she forgot to stop and think about others around her. My girl struggles with her body in space at times. Her mind is one million miles away as she walks or dances or simply has her being. We work on being aware of our body in space so that she does not walk in front of cars, run into people, or anything else that can happen when we are so lost in our thoughts that we forget to pay attention to our surroundings. While at the tea party she got lost in her moment and was spinning around the dance floor and I could just see that her mind was so far away... But unlike the little girl who was searching out dance partners, I saw my daughter's eyes sparkling and her smile widen. I watched as a little girl who has been through unimaginable things was being healed. Secure enough to go dance and feel like a princess and loved enough to accept the consequence of sitting by mom for awhile for not paying attention to others around her and almost knocking other little kiddos down. In that moment, like so many others that have come before and those that will certainly come again, she knew what it felt like to be my daughter. She knew I supported her and loved her and wanted to see her shine and smile... but that I would be there to hold her accountable and teach her and show her how to become a well mannered and cultured young woman. In that moment I could sit her down and we both knew it didn't mean that I loved her any less, but that I was simply being her mom and she my daughter. In the end I like to think she learned the difference between being A Princess for the Day and being MY Princess for a Lifetime. 
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