A Fractured Fairy Tale

Once upon a time there was a very short Princess.  This Princess never really thought of herself as royalty, things just never seemed to go her way.  Deciding that she needed to change her life, the Princess persuaded a great bird to fly her to a distant land.

Once there, our Princess met a Prince. (Isn’t that the way of fairy tales?)  This Prince looked at the Princess with pure love in his eyes and for the first time in her life, the girl actually felt like a Princess.  The Princess was ecstatically happy!  Soon, the Princess was told she was to have a child.  This made the Princess glow with love for her new found family.

The Prince and Princess loved to explore and wander far afield.  One enchanted day they took a very long walk, had a picnic by a waterfall and then took another very long walk back to their castle.  The next day, the Princess went to see her doctor, and this is where our story takes a turn.

Something was wrong with the baby and the Princess was confined to bed for the remainder of her pregnancy, 6 long months.  Their son was born and he was a joy to behold, but a light had gone from our Princess and she no longer was quick to run and play.

As the years passed, the Princess focused on her family and less on herself; she spent less time running, walking, and playing and more and more time settled on her throne.  A dark cloud began to hang over her head and our Princess began to grow – in all the WRONG directions!

Now, the Princess had once had a father that she loved very much.  This wonderful King died at an early age, leaving the Princess and her family bereft of his presence.  Alas, he was never able to meet his wonderful grandchildren.  The Princess thought about this and one day it occurred to her that she was almost the same age the King had been when he died.  The Princess did not want the same thing to happen to her!  She became quite frantic – she ran to the mirror to see if she looked ill!

When the Princess gazed into the mirror, instead of seeing her quite rounded figure, she gazed instead upon a horrible ugly Dragon!  Shocked and terrified, the Princess looked behind her, but she was alone.  It was then she realized that in her neglect of herself and her self hatred, she had turned herself into the petrifying beast that stared back at her.

What you need to know about our Princess is that she was very determined and incredibly stubborn and if she set her mind to it, she always accomplished what ever task she started.  Standing there staring at the Dragon, our Princess decided that it had to go!  She marched out and told her loving husband and son what she had seen and what she wanted to do.

These two brave men, professed their love for her and committed themselves to help her and do whatever she needed done to obtain her goal.  They offered to do it for her.  But our Princess knew, like all smart Princesses, that there comes a time when a Princess must rescue herself!

That day their entire lives changed.  They ate different food, the Princess began to walk and play, and very, very soon, she began to shrink, the dragon began to disappear.

But Dragons are evil tricksters and as our Princess was walking joyfully through her new meadow she came upon a large sign that said DTOUR and pointed up a large hill.  The hill looked difficult to climb and the Princess was growing tired, her new lifestyle was beginning to sparkle a little less and the playing and walking was not as much fun.  The Princess looked around to see if she could find another route.

Behind her stood the Dragon, smiling an evil smile.  “Princess, my name is Couch Potato, and I miss you very much.  Stop this nonsense and come back to me!  You can not possibly win this battle or make it up this hill, it is far too steep.  Come back and I will offer you comfort.”  Feeling weak, the Princess hung her head. 

At that moment, the Prince and her son stepped between her and the Dragon, each brandishing a bright sword.  “We can not fight the battle for you, my love.”  The Prince said.  “But we can give you our support and love.  Go, start your climb and know that we are here to help hold the Dragon at bay.”

How does the tale end?  We don’t know.  It is a fairy tale in progress.  On Sunday May 16^th, our brave Princess will attempt to summit the hill by participating in her first 5K;  Details to follow.

To be continued . . .