After binging every princess movie in existence, Leanna (like her mother) bought into the Disney romance fallacy of “find your prince, a beautiful wedding dress, marry and live happily ever after.” So recently my 4 year old approached me and said “Mommy, I’m going to marry.” very matter of fact. “Oh really, and who are you going to marry?” I asked her. She considered her options (which is limited in JK) and said “I’m going to marry Finnigan.” she announced. Not a bad choice I thought. Finn is a sweet boy from preschool and I like his parents.
The next day after school, I probe Leanna on the topic “Did you ask Finn to marry you?” She sighs, “yes, he said no to the wedding.” I try my best not to burst out laughing, while Mike looks relieved and says “That boy has good sense.” I go on to explain how she is young and there are lots of boys in the sea..blah blah..she seemed to drop the topic of marriage.
Fast forward to this morning at school drop off, Mike brings her to school and they run into Finn and his dad. Leanna walked right up to his dad and declared “Finnigan is going to marry me.” His dad looked startled, clearly not expecting a wedding proposal at 8:00 in the morning. Leanna added “It’s okay, I talked to my mommy.” Like I had given the blessing of their marriage. Both dads awkwardly standing there, while Leanna arranges the wedding.
Leanna clearly does not suffer from shyness or confidence issues. I hope she does find her prince, a very long long time from now.
Thirty Somethings 