Once Upon a Time...

there was a poor servant girl who wished to attend the royal ball.

Well, actually, it was her brother-in-law’s wedding…and the servant girl was me, just your typical, everyday, busy suburban mom.

   
But like the servant girl, I had nothing appropriate to wear to a fancy party. My wardrobe consisted mostly of jeans and T-shirts, because with four kids, I was on ‘mommy’ mode around-the-clock. Just trying to picture myself in an elegant dress was difficult!

   
Nevertheless, the big day was approaching, and no fairy-godmother was coming to magically transform me.

   
Or so I thought.

   
It was a Friday morning, three weeks before the wedding, when I packed the kids into the minivan. My mother-in-law accompanied me as babysitter and fashion advisor. With her help, I picked out several dresses. Then I hid myself in a dressing room and slipped on the first dress.

   
Ugh, I thought when I saw the person in the mirror. I wanted my jeans and T-shirt back. But, with a sigh, I opened the door, ready to face the judges.

   
Like a mouse in a room full of cats, I crept out and stood uncomfortably in front of my children and mother-in-law.

  
 “Ooooh!”

   
“Aaaah!”

  
 This was not the reaction I had expected.

   
“Does it look okay?” I squeaked.

   
My mother-in-law laughed. “Okay? You look fantastic!”

   
My children chimed in. “Mama, you look beautiful!”

   
I glanced down at my pale legs and bare feet sticking out from under the flowing purple fabric. I swished the skirt a little and watched the ripples. Not able to bear the scrutiny any longer, I mumbled something like, “I’ll go try on another dress…”

   
I put on a cranberry-red number and tiptoed out.

   
“Mama, you look even more beautiful!”

   
I smiled in spite of myself.

   
My mother-in-law spun her finger in the air. “You need to twirl.”

   
I turned once, slowly, and stopped. The dress wrapped itself around me. I turned again, a little quicker. My daughter clapped her hands and exclaimed, “Oh, do it again, Mama!”

   
So I spun around several times and stopped before I became dizzy. I felt sheepish, but my heart was pounding and my smile was growing.

   
“Should I try on another?”

   
The next dress, a satiny mauve piece, elicited more “ohs” and “ahs”. By this time, a saleswoman had joined my small yet enthusiastic audience. I twirled without prompting.

   
“I like this one more,” said one child.

   
“No, I like the red one better,” argued another.

   
The debate went on for a minute and we decided that I should try on the red dress again. Once more, I hid, slipped on the fancy dress, and glanced at the person in the mirror. And once more, I saw the bare feet and the ponytail, but this time I also saw pink cheeks, bright eyes, and an easy smile. Without knowing it, I had stepped into a fairytale and been transformed from ‘Tired Mom’ into Cinderella! And who had been my fairy-godmothers but my own children!           

   
Feeling more confident this time, I opened the door and stepped out. A great sigh escaped the lips of my daughter.             

   
“Oh, Mama, you look like a mermaid!”

   
She could not have given me a higher compliment. All my self-consciousness melted away, and the transformation was complete.

       

I wore the red ‘mermaid’ dress to my brother-in-law’s wedding and felt lovely, even if the dress was mostly obscured by the baby in my arms and the children huddled around my legs. But that’s okay, because it was never about the dress. The dress served only as a reminder to me that, “Yes, I may be a mother of four, but I am still a princess!” And even if I never wear that dress again, I will not forget the moral of the story, or the magical things that can happen, once upon a time…

(This article was published in the January 2011 issue of the MOPS International magazine.)