Prince Charming or Kissing Frogs: Part 1
Loser wrapped in tin foil?
What to look for in a partner? Did your parents ever encourage you to make a list of what you wanted in a partner when you were younger? A list that goes into details about the type of partner you want, hair color, eye color, and even height. At least when I was younger, I clearly only cared about looks and not qualities. My mother was a hopeless romantic type. She would always tell me stories about how she had dreams of a man with blue eyes, who had returned to her after a long absence, and she always thought it was her current partners that she was dreaming of. If it wasn’t her current husband, it was her next husband. It turns out that they were not whomever she dreamt about, but she was always so hopeful. She raised me to be a hopeless romantic just like herself. So much so, we used to watch all the romantic and Disney movies together, and cry in the end when they finally got their happily ever after. I knew one day, my prince charming, or knight in shining armor was going to come for me.
So far, I have met a lot of losers wrapped in tin foil. The worst part is, I can’t see the tin foil because my rose-colored glasses are so foggy. Now, I shouldn’t really call all my ex’s or past love interests losers. For the most part, I try to end things on good terms and I always remember the better parts of the relationships. However, I do have some stories to tell, and a consistent pattern I followed with men, boys, but for now, we will call them frogs. You have heard the saying that you must kiss a lot of frogs before you get to your prince. Well, I have chosen a few stories of my frogs. Meanwhile, I have changed around the names and circumstances to protect my ex-frogs, and let’s see if any one of them turned out to be a prince in the end.
So, without further ado, let’s begin with the first 2 major relationships of my adult years.
Prince Aladdin:
Yes, the famous “Prince Ali, fabulous he, Ali Ababwa.” the guy who comes into your life as himself, tries to get you as a prince with all his false claims and turns out to be nothing more than a street rat. A street rat was more interested in the 3 maidens in the opening song of the movie after he tried so hard to get Princess Jasmine. At the end of the movie, you are left to believe that they get married and live happily ever after, but here comes along the second movie and they still aren’t married. I do have to say that Aladdin was a sweet guy, and he wasn’t all that bad. He just wasn’t my frog. He was all about marriage and family when we first got together, and we were going to be together forever, and Frank Sanotra was going to be our theme song at our wedding. Suddenly, instead of a jeweled flower, Aladdin gives Jasmine a gold diamond ring, and he then told her it means nothing. It is just a gift. No promise of tomorrow, no engagement. It is just a gift. Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoyed my gift. It’s nice to receive gold and diamonds for no reason, but that was the first day I realized that he was no longer interested in a future with me. Do you think Princess Jasmine left? I can tell you she did not leave quite just yet. Instead, she decided to stay with Aladdin for another few years and fight with him off and on. A classic case of 2 personalities that did not blend well. It didn’t make him a bad person, or me a bad person, but we just didn’t alchemize. However, I was sure he would change his mind one day and realize I was the love of his life, and we would have a great life together. We would live happily ever after.
Eventually, I woke up and realized that he was not going to change, and I was not going to change. After all, he didn’t meet the criteria of my list anyway. He did not have blue eyes or blond hair, and he did not look like JTT from Home Improvement. So, I sent Prince Aladdin to find his new Princess Jasmine, and they got married and lived happily ever after. I am happy for him. To be honest, he wasn’t what I wanted for my life either. He had too many rules, more like Jafar in that sense rather than Aladdin, and I am a free bird flying free. However, all jokes aside, he taught me the difference between co-dependency and independence in a relationship.
Prince Eric:
After the inevitable end with Aladdin, I found myself with Prince Eric. I was the lost little mermaid that dreamed about the “grass being greener in somebody else’s lake.” Only imagine Ariel being sent up to land for a promotion instead of love. Princess Ariel worked extremely hard, and she didn’t know anyone, nor did she make time to get to know new people. She only knew her confidants Prince Eric, Sabastian, Flounder, and Scuttle.
Once she found out about the marriage between Prince Aladdin and his new Princess Jasmine, things got a little out of hand. Ariel was no longer a mermaid, so the seawater had a different effect on her. She swallowed too much seawater during a 3-day adventure, and she found herself with Prince Eric. Now, they had a close working relationship in the castle, and they knew if King Tritan were to find out, they would be in big trouble, so they decided to keep their little endeavor under wraps. Besides, Prince Eric was going away to explore a faraway land for a few weeks. In the meantime, Ariel realized that maybe Prince Eric was not her prince, he may have been just a floating seaweed adventure; she found out she was growing a little flower in her belly. Following the realization, he had gone to such a faraway land to see his other love, Ursala. Yes, the clamshell of a woman. It was an interesting venture after that.
In conclusion, Ariel told King Tritan the truth, and she asked to move back home to have her flower. Her wish was granted. Nevertheless, Eric moved closer to Ariel and the new flower. Ariel then believed that this was a good sign and that maybe, just maybe, this was her real prince. I mean, they made a flower together and everything. However, Prince Eric had a seawater issue, and he could never make up his mind to leave or to stay. Even though Princess Ariel had all these hopes and dreams about the future, she knew it was unstable for her beautiful flower. Eventually, Prince Eric decided to move away to his old Island with Ursala, and he still calls and does facetime occasionally. It was the first time Ariel realized that it wasn’t just her on her dating ventures anymore, she had a flower to consider. Not to mention, he did not fit the criteria of my list either.
It was around this time that I truly realized that my childhood list was not working out for me, nor was I even looking for the qualities on that list. So, instead of dating the princes, I was now to sit back and watch for signs in the princes before I would take the plunge. Do you know what that creates? We shall find out together in Part 2.
Take care till next time! With lots of love — Liz
