POI

In the immortal words of the Princess Cinderella, a dream is a wish your heart makes. In this case, though, my dream was a wish my mouth made, repeatedly, mostly to watch the Lad wince and squirm. And then last night, my dream was a wish that the Lad made come true.

Yes, it’s true. Last night, the Lad gave me the only surprise better than a marriage proposal or a trip to Malta: a ticket to Disney’s Princesses On Ice at the Cow Palace.

Though this may initially sound like the Homer Simpson bowling ball (aka a gift which the giver will enjoy using more than the recipient) I assure you that I have been longing to see Disney’s POI even more than the Lad has. At last, my magpie love of glitter and shine has been nearly sated. My only regret is not having known ahead of time where we were going, so that I could have dressed as my favorite Disney princess like so many of the tinier fans did. (For the record, Sleeping Beauty is my favorite, for obvious reasons.)

Black leather clad, clutching motorcycle helmets and conspicuously lacking a child, we waded through the crowd to our seats as a twinkly fleet of vaguely Arabian skaters came swirling out onto the ice clutching sparklers. “It’s Vegas for kids,” the Lad said with well-concealed horror.

“Now I know what happens to all the figure skaters who weren’t good enough for the Olympics,” I said.

I was so happy. As Cinderella and the Prince skated to the pre-recorded “So This Is Love” duet, which as a child I believed was the most beautiful song ever, I leaned into the Lad and thought: Glitter, princesses, and the Lad. Surely, this is love.