Donna- The Girl had lots of great points. But this one might just be my favorite: “The Girl did not go on to live happily ever after (because that only happens in fairytales) but she no longer has magic dust on her (well, not very much) and she is much more content and less reactive.” I appreciate this. Thank you for sharing. Hope you’re well this week? Cheers, -Thalia
Thalia thank you so much for your lovely comment💕, I appreciate you taking the time to share it. I've found things a little bit topsy turvy since the recent full moon but settling back into a routine now. I hope you are also having a good week!
Donna, I love this fairytale approach and the fairy dust. I was left with the image of finding tiny pieces sticking in a crevice here and another there after believing we’ve brushed it all away, of continuing to find little flakes, eventually having a laugh when coming across one, behind the ear, in the folds of a little toe. Thank you for this.
Love this Donna! The grief of being out of integrity or alignment with myself can cause some of the greatest rage when I forget to let the grief out.
Surprisingly, I have found that there is less grief about boundaries being crossed (rude or mean things said, etc) and more angry about having given up my own joy and light, or having shut down emotionally. These sacrifices are, for me, too much these days.
Whitney thank you for this insightful comment. When we forget to let the grief out it certainly does turn to rage, or at least mine does. When this happens I lose my center and my ability to sit in the discomfort of it and it's all just too much, as you said!
May we continue to pay attention as we move forward, using our highly trained powers of discernment (🤣 - jk, mine is not yet highly trained but I'm working on it!) to not shut down our joy or light.
Wonderful, Donna. Fairy dust saved my life but it stopped working long before I was ready to let it go. Your writing is always so relatable, reminding me yet again of John Lenin’s immortal lyrics, “I am you and you are me and we are all together”.
Anna, thank you for this meaningful comment💕 I love the lyrics you shared.
There's no doubt that fairy dust can be lifegiving and lifesaving until it's no longer serving us. As you said, either we outgrow it or it outgrows us and it seems that either way involves a bumpy ride at first. I am so very thankful we are in this together!
Wonderful advice through a fairytale. I saw little Donna, the people pleaser and how that could have manifested into adulthood.
We all have some sort of dust. I guess it comes in different colors. The dust is definitely a learned behavior we need to shed-- when it's debilitating or not our true selves.
I still find unwanted dust in my clothes, my hair, but like you said, there's no ending to the story, just shedding and learning... hopefully. 🙏🏻
Loved this. This fairy tale protagonist could’ve been me! And likely so many other women coming into their own. The magical dust reminded me of a similar but different metaphor I used in my memoir—the snow in a globe—and how when it’s shaken, the snow makes everything “look magical and lovely” but it masks the truth, the sometimes paint-chipped figurines, the cheap plastic scenes. Oh how I longed for it to stop snowing so I could have a good hard look at myself, even in her imperfections.
The snow globe is a perfect metaphor for masking our imperfections. Thank you Kimberly, I think we will look at those pretty little globes with discernment now. I know we can't wander around our lives trying to actively seek out imperfections, that's not a great way to live, but it's helpful to be aware of the gloss that can cover up so many things, often seeping into the cracks until we don't know where the gloss ends and what's real begins.
I appreciate you taking the time to read this post and drop into the comments, it's so lovely to see you💗
One can do a lot with a fairytale plot or hero's journey template. I think you could create a whole series of Adult Fairy Tales, Donna. I liked the style - easy to relate to. Now the perfume!!! All perfume makes me feel like barfing now. I used to love it. Last night, I went for dinner with a group and sat beside a woman (My sister, actually) who had crop sprayed herself with perfume. It was harsh!
This is a good reminder not to crop spray myself with perfume because I am the opposite of you and I usually love it. My patients very rarely come in wearing fragrance any more but back in the day I used to bask in their beautiful smells. I know I am the minority however so I never use fragrance at work and very sparingly in my daily life unless I'm working from home and then one can expect a crop spray!
I am glad you enjoyed my adult fairy tale and you are right, I could probably write a series based on my own misadventures!
Thank you for this delightful compliment! I think if a writer can evoke a vision of self in her reader it means she has hopefully done a good job. I appreciate you taking the time to share this with me💕. The memories of fragrance are very powerful. I'm curious if they are equally potent for all people because they transport me like no other thing.
Thank you, I am so glad you liked it! Yes the bitch/no bitch is also the story of my life. I'm hoping I pretty much have her contained in my head these days and I know she is much quieter than she has ever been.
A happy continuing, if not happily ever after... ;) I'm not sure I know what Giorgio smells like, but I wish I had a bottle of Jean Nate to nip now and then - my mom's favorite. :D
Ah, perhaps this is one more benefit of being a beautiful gay man - no Giorgio for you! What was your fav fragrance growing up? Jean Nate was just a little before my time but I do remember an air of mystery about it.
Thanks for the prompt Margery.... From being a confused kid to a soldier for big oil profits, followed by 13 years of hitchin' rides, beads & music, then into family and business.... My life has shapeshifted until finally it sits comfortably under my hat, wherever I may hang it. My place will always travel with me. Peace, Maurice
Margery it's wonderful to see you here in the comments section! Let's keep picturing a sold sign on your place and hope it happens soon! I am SO glad to hear you are enjoying life and feeling like it's YOURS. Sometimes it takes a lot of work to get to that place and I know how many bumps you've faced.❤
Really enjoyed reading this one Donna. It has been difficult to shake off the fairy dust completely along my life journey. My morning Wisdom Card today was Intention. What if the only resolution you made was to love yourself more?
I think the world would be a much better place if all of us made intentional effort to love ourselves more. It's not easy but it's only when we do that that we are able to suspend our judgement of other people. It's an excellent resolution Linda and I appreciate you sharing your Wisdom Card with us. Also, I am so glad you enjoyed this post, thank you for your continued support💗
Nancy I appreciate your kind words. It means a lot to know my words are not shooting into the void but hopefully landing in your heart to create warmth.
Donna- The Girl had lots of great points. But this one might just be my favorite: “The Girl did not go on to live happily ever after (because that only happens in fairytales) but she no longer has magic dust on her (well, not very much) and she is much more content and less reactive.” I appreciate this. Thank you for sharing. Hope you’re well this week? Cheers, -Thalia
Thalia thank you so much for your lovely comment💕, I appreciate you taking the time to share it. I've found things a little bit topsy turvy since the recent full moon but settling back into a routine now. I hope you are also having a good week!
Donna, I love this fairytale approach and the fairy dust. I was left with the image of finding tiny pieces sticking in a crevice here and another there after believing we’ve brushed it all away, of continuing to find little flakes, eventually having a laugh when coming across one, behind the ear, in the folds of a little toe. Thank you for this.
I think we get to a place where we laugh about it but it takes some effort to arrive there! Thanks for your kind words Renee.
I really enjoyed this different approach, Donna. It was fun, creative, and still really effective at conveying your point.
Here’s to shaking off the magic dust, and finding playful ways to encourage others to do the same. :)
Thanks so much buddy! You are definitely shaking off that dust.
Love this Donna! The grief of being out of integrity or alignment with myself can cause some of the greatest rage when I forget to let the grief out.
Surprisingly, I have found that there is less grief about boundaries being crossed (rude or mean things said, etc) and more angry about having given up my own joy and light, or having shut down emotionally. These sacrifices are, for me, too much these days.
Whitney thank you for this insightful comment. When we forget to let the grief out it certainly does turn to rage, or at least mine does. When this happens I lose my center and my ability to sit in the discomfort of it and it's all just too much, as you said!
May we continue to pay attention as we move forward, using our highly trained powers of discernment (🤣 - jk, mine is not yet highly trained but I'm working on it!) to not shut down our joy or light.
Love this, Donna! Love that that dust is almost all gone. Still shaking off the remnants of my own.
I think yours gently floated out Ruby's windows so now that you're in one place a little more there is much less settling on you💗
Ha! Brilliant. And true.
Wonderful, Donna. Fairy dust saved my life but it stopped working long before I was ready to let it go. Your writing is always so relatable, reminding me yet again of John Lenin’s immortal lyrics, “I am you and you are me and we are all together”.
Some vials of dust, Anna, are worth hanging onto for ever. I have so few now, But John Lennon's Walrus has pride of place. Peace Maurice
Anna, thank you for this meaningful comment💕 I love the lyrics you shared.
There's no doubt that fairy dust can be lifegiving and lifesaving until it's no longer serving us. As you said, either we outgrow it or it outgrows us and it seems that either way involves a bumpy ride at first. I am so very thankful we are in this together!
Wonderful advice through a fairytale. I saw little Donna, the people pleaser and how that could have manifested into adulthood.
We all have some sort of dust. I guess it comes in different colors. The dust is definitely a learned behavior we need to shed-- when it's debilitating or not our true selves.
I still find unwanted dust in my clothes, my hair, but like you said, there's no ending to the story, just shedding and learning... hopefully. 🙏🏻
We all have different colored dust, you are right about that! Here's to learning and shedding my friend, and also I deeply appreciate the restack😘😘
❤️❤️🙏🥰😘
Loved this. This fairy tale protagonist could’ve been me! And likely so many other women coming into their own. The magical dust reminded me of a similar but different metaphor I used in my memoir—the snow in a globe—and how when it’s shaken, the snow makes everything “look magical and lovely” but it masks the truth, the sometimes paint-chipped figurines, the cheap plastic scenes. Oh how I longed for it to stop snowing so I could have a good hard look at myself, even in her imperfections.
So happy to be here and continue to grow my understanding of all things Donna. You’re a gem.
Thank you!
The snow globe is a perfect metaphor for masking our imperfections. Thank you Kimberly, I think we will look at those pretty little globes with discernment now. I know we can't wander around our lives trying to actively seek out imperfections, that's not a great way to live, but it's helpful to be aware of the gloss that can cover up so many things, often seeping into the cracks until we don't know where the gloss ends and what's real begins.
I appreciate you taking the time to read this post and drop into the comments, it's so lovely to see you💗
One can do a lot with a fairytale plot or hero's journey template. I think you could create a whole series of Adult Fairy Tales, Donna. I liked the style - easy to relate to. Now the perfume!!! All perfume makes me feel like barfing now. I used to love it. Last night, I went for dinner with a group and sat beside a woman (My sister, actually) who had crop sprayed herself with perfume. It was harsh!
This is a good reminder not to crop spray myself with perfume because I am the opposite of you and I usually love it. My patients very rarely come in wearing fragrance any more but back in the day I used to bask in their beautiful smells. I know I am the minority however so I never use fragrance at work and very sparingly in my daily life unless I'm working from home and then one can expect a crop spray!
I am glad you enjoyed my adult fairy tale and you are right, I could probably write a series based on my own misadventures!
The memories evoked by a whiff of Giorgio and your thought provoking essay are definitely a vision of myself. 🌹
Thank you for this delightful compliment! I think if a writer can evoke a vision of self in her reader it means she has hopefully done a good job. I appreciate you taking the time to share this with me💕. The memories of fragrance are very powerful. I'm curious if they are equally potent for all people because they transport me like no other thing.
Love’s Baby Soft
The Blue Lagoon
Endless Love
Cricket
Baby Duck
This post brought back memories. Loved it. IYKYK 😜
Oh my gosh Kim you nailed every one of these, well done fellow 80's lover (well, maybe not the Baby Duck, I was more of an Asti Spumante gal🤣)
I was always the designated driver and caretaker for everyone else, but I remember that was their go to. Yuck!!!🤢
Donna, I loved this! The writing style was so engaging and I think all of us women can relate to "the girl" at many points in our lives.
I loved this line the most: "or she would act like a bitch. The Girl didn’t want to be a bitch,"
Story of my life.
Thank you, I am so glad you liked it! Yes the bitch/no bitch is also the story of my life. I'm hoping I pretty much have her contained in my head these days and I know she is much quieter than she has ever been.
A happy continuing, if not happily ever after... ;) I'm not sure I know what Giorgio smells like, but I wish I had a bottle of Jean Nate to nip now and then - my mom's favorite. :D
Ah, perhaps this is one more benefit of being a beautiful gay man - no Giorgio for you! What was your fav fragrance growing up? Jean Nate was just a little before my time but I do remember an air of mystery about it.
Eternity (eternity ... eternity...) Calvin Klein's Eternity (eternity ... eternity...) The commercials were effective, clearly - indelibly linked to the underwear. ;)
Oh yes, that was a good one! So was the underwear. It does not only live on in your mind but mine too!!
Enjoy your posts cousin. My life has finally become my life now. Enjoying life. My place has not sold yet, so still in the same place.
Thanks for the prompt Margery.... From being a confused kid to a soldier for big oil profits, followed by 13 years of hitchin' rides, beads & music, then into family and business.... My life has shapeshifted until finally it sits comfortably under my hat, wherever I may hang it. My place will always travel with me. Peace, Maurice
Wow Maurice, what an amazing response! I love the reminder that your place will always be with you.
Margery it's wonderful to see you here in the comments section! Let's keep picturing a sold sign on your place and hope it happens soon! I am SO glad to hear you are enjoying life and feeling like it's YOURS. Sometimes it takes a lot of work to get to that place and I know how many bumps you've faced.❤
Really enjoyed reading this one Donna. It has been difficult to shake off the fairy dust completely along my life journey. My morning Wisdom Card today was Intention. What if the only resolution you made was to love yourself more?
I think the world would be a much better place if all of us made intentional effort to love ourselves more. It's not easy but it's only when we do that that we are able to suspend our judgement of other people. It's an excellent resolution Linda and I appreciate you sharing your Wisdom Card with us. Also, I am so glad you enjoyed this post, thank you for your continued support💗
Thank you for such an uplifting story! By far, the best post I've read in a while!
Nancy I appreciate your kind words. It means a lot to know my words are not shooting into the void but hopefully landing in your heart to create warmth.