Cinderella Doesn’t Poop!

Dreams are weird.

This one was no exception.

There’s this perception that therapists are supposed to be able to analyze dreams, but um….that’s not me.  I once dreamt of losing all of my teeth and wanted to high tail it to the dentist.  But, apparently those dreams are about loss in general?  Or fear of growing old?  (courtesy Dr. Google)

Anyway, a dream has to be super clear for me to get the message.  And this one was.  It was so clear that the “Ah-HA” followed within a minute of the initial “WTF?”

Here’s how it went.  I was hanging out at Disneyworld, and I was sort of milling around when I overheard a mother and daughter talking.  The little girl wondered where Cinderella was, because she wanted to get in line to see her and get her autograph.

The mom said, “I don’t know, honey.  I think she’s gone to the bathroom.”

The little girl turned to her mom with an appalled look on her face and her hands on her hips. “But MOM!  Cinderella doesn’t poop!”  

She was exasperated that her mother could even think such a thing of Cinderella.

I woke up at that point and whispered WTF to myself in my head.  After a few seconds, I got it.

Here are the top four things I think of when I think of Cinderella:

1. Kind

2. Humble

3. Deserving

4. Little feet (I mean those glass slippers looked to be about 4 inches long at the most, didn’t they?  They also look super uncomfortable, which makes them even more awesome to a heel addict.  They probably shouldn’t be called slippers).

Now, what are the top four things you think of when you think of “poop”?  Or even of Cinderella going to the bathroom?  Oh the horror!  I’m having flashbacks of lifting up all of that organza on my wedding dress in the handicap stall at my wedding.

It’s just not dignified.  It mars the perfect beauty in which we have always envisioned Cinderella.

Perfect.

Uh oh.  That is the VERY thing that so many people strive for.  We must present ourselves to the world that we’ve got our shit together (excuse the pun); perfect house, perfect car, perfect marriage, perfect job, perfect family.  We can’t let them know we struggle with finances or relationships or having a baby!  Heck no!  Let’s pretend that all is well, and that we don’t poop!  We’ll pretend we’re Cinderella! They’ll believe us!

Won’t they?

Um.  Nope.  Because I remember that one scene when Cinderella hits the cat with the door.  And I’m sure Disney hid at least a bit of her shadow side from us.  Who knows?  Maybe she read cheap romance novels and ate bon bons until 3am.  Or maybe she watched trashy TV.  The point is Cinderella isn’t perfect, and that’s kinda cool.

Because perfect is impossible.  And boring.  

I’ve been struggling lately with being perfect.  I am about to embark on a cross country move that has zapped my ability to have all of my shit together and to get things done that I promised to get done for people.  But, after that dream, I stopped beating myself up.  I took ownership for my failures, and left them behind.

Moving on!  Literally and figuratively.

What perfectionistic thoughts do you need to let go of today?