Can You Have a Fairy Tale Love?

Life’s fairy tale—fact or fiction?

I hear the clamor of female voices saying, “Disney lied! There are no princes! There is no happily ever after!” Dreams dashed, fantasies destroyed. In many ways they are correct; you will not walk through life singing with the birds while fish harmonize and other woodland animals dance in time. Unless your career is that of a park ranger…

There are males out there who can indeed be princes, yet they are just as likely to be frogs. A real-life man is often some of both.

Expecting the dragon, evil queen, or bad-lipstick octopus to be defeated for your rescue, is probably not going to happen. But, that doesn’t mean you need to give up on some of your more realistic dreams nor should you settle for anything less.

So how do you do this?

1. Treasure yourself. If you think you are worthy of kindness and respect, others will too.

2. Treasure others. We will be treated in very much the same way as we treat others, including our own Prince Charming.

3. Offer and accept grace. This life does not hold perfection, in us or in those we love.

4. Know your standards and stick to them. A true prince will love who you are, not try to change you for their selfishness.

5. Give the prince a break, there will be days he will be a frog just like you.

So, don’t give up on that happy ending, even if it doesn’t include a prince. Just know that in all things in life, it never ends in one, big swoop of victory, but there will be many happy endings. Life will bring other dragons that will need to be slayed. Sometimes your prince will bear the sword, sometimes you will. Even though it may not trigger the waltz to the grand ballroom orchestra, happy endings can be found.

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Want to read more about the give and take of good relationships? Check out 7 Things to Look For in a Man, 5 Things I’ve Learned in a Decade of Wifing and Marriage is Hard.