I Dare You To Be So Amazing

"What's her name?" the pint-sized brunette asked me.

"Alexis," I replied.

"That's a pretty name," the girl with the impossibly long eyelashes said as she leaned forward to get a better look at my partner in line for the Finding Nemo show. "Hi, Alexis!" she continued.

"Momma, how does she know my name?" Alexis whispered suspiciously to me.

"She asked me and I told her," I replied.

"Oh. What's her name?" she asked.

I suggested that Alexis ask the little girl for herself. Minutes later, the two new friends stood holding hands as they chatted happily. They talked about how pretty Alexis' hair looked and how cool the lights in Lily's shoes were and other worldly matters.

Soon the doors opened and it was time to go inside and take our seats for the show. Alexis insisted that she get to sit by Lily. We moved back a few rows for just that reason.

As the puppets danced across the stage telling the story of a little clownfish and his father, the two girls sat smiling and watching in awe. Every once in a while, one or the other would glance to her side and make sure that her new friend was still there and still enjoying the show. Together they laughed at Dory's silliness, gasped at the scary sharks, and cheered when Nemo and Marlin were reunited.

When the lights came on, the new best friends were separated. It was the fault of no one in particular. It was just the sort of thing that happens when a large group of people rush to escape through a small doorway.

As the light from the sun poured over Alexis and me, she began to fret because she couldn't find Lily. Just as I was about to explain that she must have gone to another part of the park, Alexis spotted a familiar bright red shirt amongst a huge crowd of people. She ran towards Lily, dragging me behind her.

"I have something for you!" Alexis told Lily. Her chubby little hand emerged from her pocket holding three shiny pieces of Mickey-shaped confetti. "Have some pixie dust!" Alexis told Lily.

Lily thanked Alexis and the two hugged and said goodbye, likely not knowing that they will probably never see one another again.

I came into the story near the end. It actually began much earlier in the day, aboard a crowded bus on its way to Disney's Animal Kingdom. As Alexis and Mr. Husband waited patiently for the bus to complete the trek, they were befriended by a little girl. The little girl had found some pixie dust on the ground at the Magic Kingdom. She gave it to Alexis as they chatted. Alexis had stuck it in her pocket.

Much later that evening, Alexis explained the pixie dust to me. "I got it from my friend and then I gave it to a new friend and now she'll give it to a new friend and she'll give it to a new friend and she'll give it to a new friend . . . " she continued to weave a tale of little girls making friends and sharing their magical pixie dust with one another.

Go on . . . make a new friend today. Share a little of your own version of magical pixie dust while you're at it. I dare you.

(Unfortunately, I don't have a photograph of Lily. I do, however, have a photograph of Alexis with Isabel, the new friend she shared a little magical pixie dust with today.)

Remind Me That The Fact That SHE Was Happy Is All That Matters, Mmkay?

Spoiled . . . lucky . . . fortunate . . . blessed . . . whatever you want to call it, Alexis is it. Last year taking Alexis to the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique turned out to be one of the highlights of my life, so there was no way I was going to pass up an opportunity to do it again. There is no feeling like capturing joy on film as it comes shooting out of your kid's head in a rainbow-colored explosion of glitter and curls.

That. THAT is what happy looks like.

I knew this year would be a bit different. Alexis has grown a little, matured a little, and, most importantly, she knew what to expect. In the mind of a shy little kid, known situations are like hot chocolate on a cold winter day. Comfort.

While last year Alexis was nervous and scared during the Princessification process, this year She. Was. Ready. She climbed up into that chair all by herself, grinning from ear-to-ear as she waited for the forty pounds of gel and glitter to transform her into her self-defined personification of a Beautiful Princess.

There's a small part of me that dies inside every time Alexis tells me that she thinks wearing fancy dresses and getting your hair done are what make you "boo-ti-ful." However, I can't deny that getting dressed up is fun. Besides, who doesn't feel more glamorous and confident and amazing when they get all gussied up?

As Alexis sat way up high in that Big Girl Chair, stolen smiles flickered across her face and I *click*click*clicked* away with the camera. The photos that the professionals took of the Princessification last year were AWFUL, so I had no photographic evidence of the first go-round. I wanted to make up for lost time.

Realizing I was capturing a bit of a yellow cast and too many shadows because of the poor lighting in the room, I switched to manual mode. MUCH better.

And then it happened.

My camera battery died.

Just moments before Alexis was spun around so she could see the final results in the mirror, I realized that my extra battery was miles away at the hotel. There wasn't a damn thing I could do about it.

::tear::

::OK, so a lot of tears::

Just as Cinderella's carriage poofed into a pumpkin, my camera had poofed into a paperweight.

All I have is a handful of regrets and a crappy cell phone pic.

::sigh::

I guess this means I won't be winning that Mother of the Year Award this year. It might also mean I need to start harassing Mr. Husband to let us do this whole thing just one more time.

There's a Story Here...

...and I'll tell it when I'm not so exhausted that I . . . . Zzzzzzzzzzz.