Once Upon a Time

“Before you met me I was a fairy princess

I caught frogs and called them prince and made myself a queen”

Faith Hill

         My mom tells stories. The story of the bullied boy locked in the cabinet, and the story of the package of bacon slipped into the grocery cart.  She favors the ever repeated and ever clichéd story of the walk to school along the railroad tracks, uphill, in the cold Manitoba winters. Her life puzzled together through tales of the bright, sparkling peaks and the dark, shadowy valleys.

         I want to tell stories too. 

         I am the daughter of an unconventional minister and an irreverent lawyer.  I grew up lakeside in Connecticut suburbia.  I have romantic sensibilities, mixed with a dollop of pragmatism.  Sometimes I do see myself as a fairy princess. And sometimes I find food in my hair.

         The online Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines a fairy tale “as a story (as for children) involving fantastic forces and beings (as fairies, wizards, and goblins)” and as “a story in which improbably events lead to a happy ending” (Source).  My definition of fairy tale is an amalgamation of the two. For my purposes, a fairy tale is a moment in life, so improbable, surreal and full of “fantastic forces and beings”, crystallized into story form.  It may or may not have a happy ending but, even if it doesn’t, that’s where I’m headed.

         According to Wikipedia the definition of what is truly a fairy tale is disputed, and this is how I justify creating my own definition, for my own purposes.  What is not disputed, however, is that “fairy tales do not require fairies” (Source). The fairies truly are optional.

But I’ll do what I can.

You'll have to forgive my pictures. I'll have a camera soon.

"And before you knew me I'd traveled 'round the world

I slept in castles and fell in love because I was taught to dream"

Faith Hill