Magic Mirror on the Wall...

While listening to my daughters (24 and 9) talk about who their favorite Disney heroine is, it occurred to me that we women posses qualities from each of these Disney characters.

Take Jasmine:
She calls all the shots in her relationship. Aladdin falls for her right away, but she makes him work for it. You wanna ride the magic carpet with her? You're gonna have to prove yourself first.

You've got the traditional Cinderella:
She worked her butt off for her home and waited patiently for her prince to show up and rescue her. She was the 50's woman, vacuuming in heels, and provided Charming stayed faithful, she earned her fairy tale ending.

What about Mulan?
This girl's all boy. She doesn't want to serve the soldiers, she wants to be a soldier. She's got a lot of fight in her and she's got a mission impossible, but somewhere under those weapons and shields is a girl who loves a boy and she wants to reveal her heart to him.

Arielle the mermaid:
Probably my favorite. She felt stymied in her life and was held firmly in place by her father's thumb. But with a huge gamble, she swam her heart out to reach a new life. She got that life, she also got her man and it was her voice that set her apart in his eyes. Romance trumps all with this girl.

And who doesn't love Belle?:
The thinking girls girl. She always had her nose in a book and when a handsome brute tried to capture her heart, he fell miserably short. She was looking for something more and like many of us... she was looking for a man to save. She may have been co-dependant, but he'd still be an animal (and not the good kind) if it weren't for her.

I like to think of myself as a girl who wouldn't fall for a man just because of his looks, and I like to think of myself as a reader/thinker, and also the 50's wife, but one who would fight a battle for the things that matter most... and of course I love to sing and swim although my tail's retired for the moment. I didn't even mention Tinker Bell and her jealous heart... I definitely have that going on at times. Yeah, I enjoy men and all their characteristics, but women are a special breed... we're interesting and with all our similarities, we're still unique. All beautiful in our own way. I like the thought that there's someone for everyone.

The Bible has some fascinating stories of women too. Soldiers, prostitutes, queens and daughters. I see myself in all those women too. It's a gift to be a woman and I want to start appreciating it. Who cares if the world tells us we're all supposed to be carbon copies? They're wrong. We're beautiful, just the way we are and it's time we celebrated the people we are, inside and out.