But all was not as it should be.
The skin of the Princess slowly withered, her raven hair frizzed and greyed, and her tinkling laugh began to resemble that of a cackle. Her melodious songs that once rang throughout the castle, began to sound like a screech, and she constantly plotted some ‘me’ time and pleaded for her small ones to talk in ‘inside’ voices.
A dull haze settled throughout the Kingdom.
Her ivory skin began to develop a green hue, and a witches cackle seemed to nag all within her path. Though she tried in vain to recall memories of trials won, her mind became crowded with the soundtrack of Frozen, how to hide veggies in finger food, and desperately trying to stay on top of the laundry.
As she feverishly scrubbed each morning in the fountain of youth, she would emerge to find an evil sorcerer (or more likely two pint size sorcerers) had cast a spell, tipping the contents of her castle upside down. This would only serve to anger and exasperate the Princess even more. The castle walls began to close in on her as she lamented her seemingly lost freedom and youth.
But her Prince could still give the kiss of true love.
Slowly, the Princess began to return.
Her sleep was no longer broken and her days began to seem brighter and full of promise.
The poo smear on the toilet seat would no longer bring her to her knees, and the constant lego carpet was not the barrier it once presented.
Though the Princess sought for an answer in the evening golden elixir of the grape, it was by no means a permanent solution. Wittier? Yes. Sexier? Hell yes! But did it fully return her to that amazing place of true content?
No.
Alas.
It took the unexpected.
The simple.
The beautiful.
It was found amongst the mess and the madness.
It was in the moment her son offered to share his pre-licked marshmallow with her.
It was there the morning her angel finally stood still when the Princess was struggling to weave her silken hair into some semblance of style.
Totally there when she pulled her ‘oh so on trend’ jeggings on and they weren’t quite as snug as the previous wear.
Though the threats and challenges facing the kingdom were still ever present, they were changing and lessening and the Princess began to breathe again. Within the arms of the Prince, he embraced the crevices around her eyes and held tight to her fuller body. Though the green skin hue and cackle sometimes returned around the witching hour(s) each day, it was no longer such a heavy, mind consuming burden.
And so, as the Princess continued to test the success of the evening elixir, the Kingdom entered the season of ‘life goes on’ and they all lived happily ever after in the land of Suburbia.
Until the next toddler meltdown; in the confectionery aisle, or the footpath in front of McDonalds, or out the front of creche; anywhere there’s an audience, really…
Dreams really do come true.
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