On Being a Fairy

"I've decided."

"You've decided what?"

"I've decided what I'd like to be when I'm older."

I knew this would be good, but nothing could have prepared  me for what came next.

"I'm going to be Einstein. Or, you know, maybe Sally Ride."

"Albert Einstein?" I managed to say, the smile showing only in my eyes.

"Yep. But without the hair. He had CRAZY hair."

She was serious. This wisp of a seven year old had plans. Apparently big ones.

"You know what Einstein did, right?" Her father asked gently. I was so proud of him. If I'd been driving we may have been off the road at this point. His grin huge, all but hidden from her view by the angle of the seat. "Well, you do love school. You have to love it, a lot, if you want to be the next Einstein...You may be able to do it...", his voice trailing off as he shrugged his shoulders and smiled at me.

I was also proud of the Grace Girl, who had managed to keep her snark to a snort.

"Yep, he did research. Relativity. He worked really hard. He was inspired."

I love, unabashedly, this little joy child in our home...her big ideas, her work ethic, her heart.

The Grace Girl chimed in, asking, "Don't you mean Amelia Earhart? I think you mean her."

"No," replied Little Bit,"I mean Sally Ride. The first woman in space."

I smiled. Big. Our English review for the standardized test was working.

Until this conversation, our sweet girl with the sparkling eyes had always told us she was going to be a fairy when she grew up. She wanted to fly. To soar and swoop and be higher up in the air than anyone else.



Suddenly, the car felt cramped and my heart was squeezed. In my head, all I could hear was a small voice saying, "She won't be little much longer."

We left the conversation there, as we pulled into the garage and tumbled out, heading to our various activities.

Later, sitting next to her over a bowl of soup at the dinner table, I said,"I thought you wanted to be a fairy. What happened to that dream?"

She smiled wide, looking me straight in the eyes."Mama, I'm never going to turn into a fairy. See, I have skin. No wings. It was a silly dream I guess. At seven, you can't very well tell people that you want to be a fairy when it's not even a possibility. I'm human."

She had a point. Being ever a realist, what came out of my mouth next surprised even me.

"You could be Tink at Disney World. She flies on a safety wire. She's a human who is employed as a fairy."

Little Bit's eyes glimmered. "I could still be Einstein," she said, "But maybe I could do that as well. THAT sounds amazing. I'd even wear wings that light up!"

That you would, my joy child, that you would.

In that moment though? It was my heart that was glowing.

In our home...


We'll still dream of soaring...with a whole lot of physics and math on the side.

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