Happily Ever After?

“And they lived happily ever after.”

This is the common ending for most fairy tales. And quite frankly I’m quite sick of hearing it. What the bleep does it mean? The couple never has a fight? Never have hard times? No troubles?

 That sounds highly unlikely. But to be fair it is a fairy tale after all, where good always wins, the girl always gets the Prince Charming and has a great singing voice. Nothing like reality. And why are they all so damn beautiful, no flaws in sight. You know the stereotype. The princess has long flowing hair, perfect teeth aand a size zero waistline. The prince is…well, Prince Charming with his winning smile. Don’t not-so-beautiful people deserve a happy ending also. People with the chipped tooth, curvy waistline and close cropped hair.

Although I understand wanting to protect our children from the harsh relality of life, that is just it, reality. You can’t run from it. It’s always in you face like that damn pimple that always pops up at the most inopportune times. I think that having a child grow up unprepared for the real world irresponsible. While I want my son to enjoy everything life has to offer, I don’t want him to go into the world with rose-colored glasses and be unprepared for people who in no way see the world in the same light.

We are giving children the wrong idea about what love is. Does love mean you always like your other half, that you live in the biggest house on the block, that you are crowned royality? Of course not. As a matter of fact, I would more readily believe that a couple that fights daily, live in the tiniest house on the block and are deemed ‘peasants”  and are happy with each other, flaws and all, know far more about what love really is. And that’s a happy ending to me.

So while I like mostly everyone enjoy a good fairy tale, I think a more appropriate ending is in order.