A Matter of Perspective

Once upon a time . . .

Remember fairy tales? Remember happy endings?

I think these days we have to really work to get our happy ever afters.

But really, don’t you think most of those princesses and princes had to fight to get theirs, too?

Look at Sleeping Beauty. She had to endure a wicked step-mother, a distant father, seven little men, and a sleep that lasted who knows how long before she met Prince Charming and had her happy ending. We never really see what Prince Charming had to go through to get his Beauty, but you can be certain it was considerable, as well.

Look at Cinderella. She had a wicked step-mother, too. And wicked step-sisters to boot! Good thing she had small feet so the glass slipper would fit to get her the happy ending she wanted.

One thing I have noticed about these fairy tales is the presence of wicked step-mothers and siblings as well as a Prince solving the problems of these women in despair.

I’m pretty sure that was by design.

When I was in college, we had to write a fairy tale of our own for one of my speaking classes.

I wrote one without a wicked step-mother or siblings.

Mine was about a tall, slightly ugly maiden.

When she tried to go to the ball where the prince would select his bride, she was sent away because of her tall, slightly ugliness.

When she was left crying in the courtyard, the prince saw her and asked why she was crying.

She looked up into his tall, slightly ugly face and it was love at first sight!

They lived happily ever after and had many tall, slightly ugly children.

The end!

I think fairy tales are amazing. You can have anything happen, as long as it has a happy ending for someone. And that is usually the “good” guy.

But back to our happy endings.

Most people work very hard their whole lives to get their happy ending.

At my age, I am thinking of that happy ending as retirement. If I retired at 62, that is just seven years from now! What? How did I get this old so fast?

I doubt that I will ever truly retire. I enjoy writing and can see myself continuing to write for years to come, as long as I can keep the old noodle (brain) in shape. Even if the noodle goes, I could probably still write, I just may not know what I am writing about!

I started a retirement plan lately, too, so I will need to keep working for quite some time to even be able to have enough to live on for a year!

In other news:

Tonight will be the first official meeting for me as a new council member on the Clarissa City Council. Honestly, I am excited and scared at the same time. I will do my best to represent the citizens and our city.

As we are no longer doing the Be A Loser With Karin weight loss contest, I have set up a Facebook group for people who just want to share with each other our struggles, triumphs, and bits of wisdom and tips. It is called A Bunch of Happy Losers. It is a private group, so please request to become a member. I think this can be a lot of fun and helpful for those of us who struggle with our weight.