Queen of the Castle

:) When I put those words by my picture on the blog, I was kind of making a pun with our Halloween costumes, since I was dressed as a princess. I received this cute tale on one of the many email listservs I subscribe to, and thought it would be fun to share:


QUEEN OF YOUR CASTLE
Homebodies
By Cheryl Gochnauer
homebodies@comcast.net
Copyright 2008

Once upon a time, there was a fair Princess who was very
beautiful, especially in her parents' eyes. But though she was
beautiful inside and out, the Princess was also very confused.
Her mother, the Queen, loved the castle and was content to
raise her family within its walls. But every day, rabble-
rousers outside the castle banged on the gates and tossed
rocks with messages tied round them into the courtyard. The
Princess would untie the messages and read them:
"The Queen is wasting her life, just staying in the castle
with you and the young princes."
"Princess, the Queen is a coward. Or maybe she's just lazy.
Then again, I bet she's not very smart. Because brave, busy
and bright queens leave their castles and become part of the
real world."
"I can't believe how selfish the Queen is. She makes your
father, the King, work like a serf to take care of her while
she watches Oprah the Great spin tales all day."

The Princess, who up until this time had been happy to play in
the castle with her brothers and the Queen, began to mope. "If
the Queen would get a job outside the castle, my life would be
so much better," she thought. "There would be money for more
toys, I could play with other kids all day at Wee Royal
Daycare, and the Queen could drive me about in a brand-new
carriage."

The King noticed the Princess pouting, and beckoned her to
him. "What's the matter, Child?" he asked as she crawled up in
his lap. When the Princess told him about her plight, the King
realized it was time for a royal chat. He summoned the princes
and the Queen, and the entire royal family gathered to hear
his words.

"Alas," the King began, "I fear a plague has entered the
castle grounds, transported here by the rocks thrown over the
castle walls. It is affluenza, a dangerous and fast-growing
affliction that brings sorrow to almost every family it
infects.

"Affluenza's victims are stricken with a warped perception of
true wealth," the King explained. "Instead of valuing what
they have, they want more. They trade their time for things,
and then have no time to enjoy the things they've traded for.
"Princess, don't you like to play with the Queen and the
princes?" he asked. She nodded. "Well, if you spend ten hours
everyday in Wee Royal Daycare, you won't have much time to
play with the Queen. And since Wee Royal Daycare doesn't take
princes under two years old, you'll be separated from your
youngest brother, too." The Princess scooted a little closer
to the Baby Prince.

"With the gold the Queen made from working outside the castle,
we could afford to buy the new carriage," the King
acknowledged. "But you wouldn't spend much time in it, except
driving back and forth to Wee Royal Daycare. And carriages
cost so much, there wouldn't be much money left over for new
toys, either."

"It's nice having the Queen around to help you learn and to
answer questions, isn't it?" the King asked. "At Wee Royal
Daycare, there are nice teachers, too. But with one teacher to
ten children, they are very busy, and what's important to you
and the Queen isn't always important to them."

"Tell me what you saw the Queen doing today at the castle,"
the King said.
"Let's see," the Princess thought. "She cleaned the castle,
bartered with shopkeepers, washed and mended our clothing. She
soothed the Baby Prince, counseled the Teen Prince, and helped
me with my letters. Then she prepared the feast, and listened
to you talk about fighting dragons outside the castle."
"The Queen doesn't sound lazy or scared or dumb to me,"
observed the King.

"She's wonderful," cried the Princess, as she threw her arms
around the Queen.
"Yes, she is," said the King. "And I should have let you know
I thought so earlier. Sometimes I get so busy fighting
dragons, I forget to say how much I appreciate her creating a
safe haven inside the castle.
"Princess, there's a wide, often whimsical world beyond these
walls. You have many choices of what you might do with your
life when you grow up. But no matter what you do, remember
that simply becoming queen of your castle is a noble choice."
*****
Are you Queen of your castle? Write Cheryl at
homebodies@comcast.net and spin a tale of your favorite moment
with your royal children.

***Now, you working moms, I'm not trying to disinclude you--I don't know how you do all that you do! Just thought this was cute, and true for me. I'm very thankful my mom stayed home with us while we were growing up. There are sacrifices, but it's worth it!