Someday my Duke Will Come

My niece, Skylee has her own bedroom in my house. She has fully taken over one of the sets of bunk beds that once slept those precious aliens. We have decorated 'her bathroom' and she has toys and books and clothes and tooth brushes and hair clips and her own space. Its nice that sometimes I can just pick her up from her mom or dad and she can just stay over - no bag necessary. We even have a bedtime ritual. After pajamas and teeth brushing, she takes her place on the top bunk and I lay on the bottom bunk with the lights off and we tell stories. Skylee is 6. The stories that interest her all take place in a land far away with castles and Princesses and fairies and Princes...and one very important element - all of the Stories must have a character named Skylee. The many adventures of Princess Skylee have taken us to many castles with many Princes, Fairy Godmothers, Grand Balls, Beautiful Dresses and Happily Ever Afters. Sometimes, Aunt Jen appears in the Stories - but since I am not Princess Skylees mother, the Queen, I am deemed the Duchess. I am Duchess Jen. Of course, I am the grandest of Duchesses.

In the heat of one of Skylees very detailed and involved stories of make believe - when Duchess Jen again arrived at the Ball alone. I said, "Hey! Where is my Duke?" Skylee hesitated, she said "ummm" a few times and said, "you can't be married!" I protested, and tried to reason with the 6 year old above me - 'but you aren't married and Princess Skylee always has a Prince!'. Then, I asked a very serious question, 'Skylee, don't you want me to get married?' And she said, 'well, ummm, no." She got very quiet as I said - 'Why don't you want me to get married? 'you could be praying to help me find a husband!' And she peeked her head over the edge of the bunk bed and looked down at me and said - 'because I like it just you and me. And if you got married, I wouldn't be able to sleep over. And I what if your husband doesn't like me?!" Ahhh....well, I told sweet, but worried Skylee that all the Dukes in the world would love her and that I could never marry anyone that didn't like her. And I told her we would still have fun all by ourselves, and we would kick my husband out and make a "Girls Only" sign for the door for story time. And she became convinced that it was okay for Duchess Jen to have a Duke.

Story time has become more interesting as now, she lets me pick the name of the Duke vying for Duchess Jen's attention each time and she sometimes has the Prince and Duke fight over Princess Skylee until the Duke meets Duchess Jen. On our last story telling night, my story was about how Princess Skylee lost all of her money and she had to live as a pauper and work in a shoe store to make money to fix up her castle. Princess Skylee had magic skills to find the right and most beautiful shoes for all the people in her town and she changed her stars. Skylee's story had Princess Skylee morphing into a fairy periodically to help a Duke realize that he loved Duchess Jen, and the fairy put a magic spell on the Duke and it accidentally got her precious Prince too - and they both fell in love with Duchess Jen. Oh no! The spell wore off and all was right with the world...but I am in love with her earnest storytelling match making for me..and for herself.

When we were saying prayers that first night I convinced her that a Duke would be a GOOD thing, she offered this, "Please bless Jen to find someone to marry, and bless that he will like her... and me."


Someday my Duke will come and I know he will love Princess Skylee.



PS - I would be totally okay with my Duke looking a little like Flynn Rider.

PPS - Happy Birthday to my lil sister Nichole - who always credits her interest in music and singing to wanting to sing and be like me, but whose development of her amazing vocal instrument has me wanting, now, to be like her.