My 8-Year-Old Still Wants To Be A Princess; All Is Right With The World

Forget about my kids -- I'm the one having major growing pains. After accidentally clicking on a folder on my computer which contained pictures of my 8-year-old daughter as a cherubic toddler scampering about, I found myself overwhelmed with sadness. OK, I was weeping uncontrollably for a solid five minutes as I clicked through a dozen or so files, charting her progression from baby to now self-possessed almost tweenager.

I am not one of those overly sentimental parents-I can't recall her first step, her first bite of solid food, or the first time she said mama. Of course, I can vividly recount her first temper tantrum. We were at a Carvel store and feeling frustrated at not being able to lick the ice cream fast enough to keep it from melting she took her sugar cone and threw it in on the ground.

She's a feisty, hot-tempered redhead, who surprises me everyday with her determination and unwillingness to succumb to a situation she can't solve; who has my whole heart and whose red-hair is a source of good luck (each St. Patrick's Day several random strangers ask to make a wish on her head). She's also growing up faster than I care to acknowledge. In fact, her demands that I tuck her in at night and stroke her cheek have slowly been replaced with reading a Meg Cabot book (Allie Finkle rules!) and reassuring me that while she still loves me, I no longer need to tuck her in. DEEP sigh!

So when Disney invited us to the coronation of Princess Tiana, the princess in the lushly animated feature film "The Princess and the Frog" as well as the first African-American princess to join the court of Disney princesses, she surprised me with her enthusiasm about attending. She insisted on wearing her American Girl white satin gown, and matching flower wreath and pretending to be a princess for the day. And I for one could not have been more thrilled!

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