I’m stealing Cinderella. It’s a crazy thought I know. I’ve fallen in love with her. I always knew I would but I never thought it’d be this good.
I think back to the first time I heard the song “Stealing Cinderella” by Chuck Wicks and I remember thinking what a great song it was. To me the experience of falling in love and taking the love of your life away from her father was something distant, something that would eventually happen in the future not something that I was experiencing now. Chad’s song took on a new meaning for me.
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“She was playing Cinderella
She was riding her first bike
Bouncing on the bed and looking for a pillow fight
Running through the sprinkler with a big popsicle grin
Dancing with her dad, looking up at him
In her eyes I’m Prince Charming
But to him I’m just some fella riding in and stealing Cinderella”
–Chuck Wicks, Stealing Cinderella[/box][/one_half]
I knew I fell in love with her when after a couple days of not seeing her I felt incomplete. In my mind and heart I felt like a piece of me was missing. I can’t really explain why or how it happened but I came to accept that I had fallen for her. When she was gone I was constantly looking at the phone wishing I could hear her voice on the other end. When she finally called she didn’t have to say much, her laugh was enough to calm my anxieties.
Maybe I’ve fallen in love with the way she looks at me. Those big brown eyes seem to focus on me and nothing else. Maybe it’s her direct and candid nature–she says what’s on her mind and holds nothing back. Maybe it’s because not a day goes by that I don’t pray for her and ask God to keep her safe and happy.
I met her almost five years ago. It’s funny, my first impression of her was, “Wow, she’s pretty ugly.” Considering how there was one really attractive woman in the room I was surprise I fell for her. There wasn’t anything extraordinary about her she was pretty much normal. She was however an emotional train wreck. But she instantly caught my eye and won my affection as I noted how she light up the room with excitement.
Through the years we became close. She would tell me her secrets, tell me she wanted to spend more time together and always commented on how she would miss me as I went off to work or school. She won me over with the attention she gave me. You probably wouldn’t know it today because she’s always avoiding me and playing hard to get.
Every time I see her I tell her I need my daily kiss. She just bats her eyes, straightens her head and walks away. I chase after her and wrap her around my arms. I tell her I won’t let her go until she kisses me. She squirms and tells me to let go of her. So, since she won’t kiss me on her own I steal a kiss, and then another one, and another until I fill her entire face with kisses. She laughs, looks me in the eyes and says, “You’re crazy.”
She’s right. I’m crazy about her. It drives me crazy that I can’t seem to say no to her. I’m crazy about her happiness. I’m almost mad about how crazy she can make me sometimes. I’m crazy about my princess, my little Cinderella.
My niece is one of the greatest blessings in my life. Whenever she looks at me I’m reminded that this little midget looks up to me—literally and figuratively. She exemplifies unconditional love. She’s incredibly smart (probably more so than me). She has a gift for breaking barriers and filling others with happiness.
I often tell her, “You’re so beautiful, someone’s gunna steal you one day.” She shifts her head, bats her eyes and says, “I know.” She loves to tell me stories. Her favourite ones are the ones about princesses and ballerinas. She loves cuddling. She’s also quite the little drama queen. But everything about her makes me grateful that she’s in my life. Regardless of how bad my day has been she can “turn my frown upside down.” I’m pretty sure she’s secretly Jamaican because she speaks English with a foreign accent and most days she’s crazy cheerful.
For the spoof on this see the Real Jamaican Volkswagen Commercial Spoof
When I asked her what she wanted for her birthday she surprised me by saying, “I’m going to ask God for a rainbow.” She knows God can do all things, so she asked for her own little piece of happiness. That’s the type of child that she is: hopeful, optimistic, loving, and inspiring. Little children do say the darndest things. I think we’re sometimes afraid of asking for miracles. I think it’s because we’ve stopped thinking like they have. Their world is simple and not complicated by the nuances of grown-up life. They live in a world full of possibility and happily challenge any difficult task. Little children love helping others. I’m sure her wish to have a rainbow for her birthday is one way for her to help others cheer up.
Yeah, I’m pretty sure I’m in love. I don’t know what I’m going to do when she grows up. Will I be the jealous over protecting uncle? Probably. Will I still look at my phone in anticipation for her calls? Yeah, I’m pretty sure I still will. But, because she’s still so small, and the future is so uncertain, I’m stealing Cinderella; we’re going out for ice cream.
