Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, I dreamed that I was a princess.
I was 10 years old, and pink and purple were the colors that shimmered and shined for me.
I wanted a bedroom fit for a princess. I wanted pink walls and a full-sized white canopy bed with layers of purple ruffles, white nightstands with small lamps that were fitting, and a white fur rug to place my princess feet upon. This was a Christmas wish.
As the gifts started going under the tree, I would try to figure out which part of my princess room could fit into the box. The day arrived when a very large, but flat, gift appeared. Could it be my princess bed?
My parents asked me if I really thought a big canopy princess bed could fit into such a box. How could it? I knew they were right: No way a bed could fit into that box.
Why should Christmas come to our home when my one and only wish was not coming true?
Christmas morning came anyway. The house was full of soft and glowing lights from the tree and decorations, hot chocolate was in our cups, and beautiful Christmas music was playing throughout the house. Everything was beautiful, and we were all happy and dancing around, enjoying our Christmas Day.
I told my mom that it didn’t matter too much that I would not have a princess room, and that I still liked Christmas Day.
She smiled and winked at me. She told me that I have been a princess since the day I was born, and I didn’t need some silly bed to prove it.
We gathered around the tree, and I was instructed to open the first and largest gift. I opened an end and peeked inside. There was a picture of the most beautiful canopy bed I had ever seen. It was not just white, but trimmed in gold. I was so overwhelmed, I cried.
There was no way that a bed was inside. My parents had convinced me it could not be. The box was opened, and piece-by-piece, it came out to make my complete full-sized princess bed.
Not only that, I had a matching dresser, two bedside stands, white shimmering lamps, and layers upon layers of purple bedding, canopy and curtains.
Within a week, my beautiful pink and purple princess room was complete, right down to the white fur rug. I still remember the way it looked.
But the best present I received that Christmas was not that, it was the memory of those words my mother spoke.
– Carolyn Bennett
Carolyn Bennett joined The Laker/Lutz News in 2004. She is responsible for processing advertising copy for production, and ensures ads are scheduled and running correctly in the paper. She also is the paper’s customer service representative and sales assistant.
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