My Daughter's Fairy Godmother

My daughter got to spend the day with her Aunt Sue, or her Fairy Godmother, today.

When Aunt Sue picked Allie up this morning she told Allie they were going to have a day of adventures. I saw Allie's eyes light up as I could see her wheels turning in wonder as she thought about what kind of adventures her day would bring her. I walked away from the car with a warm tingling sensation - I felt so amazingly happy that Allie has this wonderful woman in her life that loves her almost as much as I do and gets to spend time with her and have nothing other then fun! I know I didn't have that kind of relationship with my grandparents or aunts growing up - I was even momentarily envious that Allie gets to experience such a wonderful and special relationship. But more than envious I am so happy that Allie has such a person in her life.

I thought of all the adventures Allie and her Fairy Godmother have been on in the past - sleepovers, rock-climbing, shopping, getting temporary henna tattoos together, playing arcade games at Dave & Busters, riding rides together at an indoor amusement park, frolicking at parks and in the pool, dining on Dim Sum, and I'm sure there were countless others that I have forgotten over time. Aunt Sue (along with Muncle Rick) has even bought Allie some of her all-time favorite presents: a portable DVD player, High School Musical 2 DVD, Bella Pop Star DVD, a mini-blow up bouncy when she was younger, a bracelet that says Allie, a necklace with a blinged out "A", a princess "big girl" bike, a "twirly" dress from Greece, puppets from a puppet show and I'm sure lots others that are escaping me.

And the coolest thing ever - Aunt Sue makes pancakes for Allie that spell her name (that really impresses me considering I thought unless you ordered pancakes from a restaurant you just took them out of a box and nuked them in a microwave!) - Allie continues to be in awe over that one!

At the end of the day, as I was in my car driving to meet them for ice-cream I noticed how excited I was to see them to hear all about their adventures! As I listened to everything they did, I realized how lucky I am to have such an amazing friend. And more importantly, I realized (not for the 1st time, but for at least the millionth time) how lucky my daughter is be loved by such a fabulous person.

While "Aunt Sue" and I haven't known each other for a life time, we have spent countless hours of the last decade together and Allie has most definitely known "Aunt Sue" for her entire lifetime. What hit me today more than anything was that at whatever place Sue and I are at in our life, we always come together. We cry together. We laugh together. We argue together. We hug together. We stand together. We are family together.

At various times over the past decade we have had some really rough spots. We have lost jobs, money, her marriage (took me a while to recover from that one!), self esteem and our minds at times. But at any given moment she has always been there for myself, my husband and my daughter. With no judgment. Just hope, love and laughter.

And as I sat in the ice-cream shop today at the table with my daughter and her Fairy Godmother, I felt like the luckiest girl in the world. Not only was I with my daughter who I adore to pieces and absolutely enjoy being with, but I was with "Aunt Sue" - a better friend and a better Fairy Godmother does not exist. And I felt truly fortunate that my daughter is just beginning her journey of creating such a special relationship with her Aunt Sue.

What girl hasn't dreamt about a Fairy Godmother when they were little? I looked at Allie and Aunt Sue today and realized that Allie has a real life Fairy Godmother that is better than any she could ever dream about. . .