Lessons from Lucy

With a title like "Lessons from Lucy" one could image this post going in many directions. You may think you are on the verge of hearing a deep tale of parenting or a winding tale of life lessons. We are not going that direction with this post, but rather in a direction that reflects the mood Lucy was in one morning earlier this week.

At breakfast Lucy announced, simply, she had some questions and that she wanted some answers. She explained to Mommy that with Daddy's help he wanted to learn about Ariel's Mommy, Cinderella's Daddy, and Cinderella's Mommy. While honored to help, I was concerned that we were not going to find much. Lucy suggested we “look on-line” (a new phrase of her’s) and before we knew it we were clicking away.

To step back for a moment, Lucy has really been getting into the characters of her books. From Dora, to Elmo, to Ariel, to Pinkalicious she is constantly talking about the characters in her books. Daily she announces that she is Zoe (Sesame Street), or that Daddy is Big Bird, or that Mommy is Abby (also Sesame Street). When we color she always wants to draw Dora, Boots, Cookie Monster or some other character. She focuses on these character and wants to know everything about them…which brings us back to our daily lesson.

Question 1: Where is Ariel’s mommy?

Answer: Although Ariel’s mom, Queen Athena, does not appear in The Little Mermaid, she does appear in the 2008 video, The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Beginning. Apparently, Queen Athena doesn’t make it out of the film, but Lucy was certainly glad to see a picture.

Question 2: Where is Cinderella’s Daddy?

Answer: We were unable to find out Cinderella’s dad’s name, but we did find a picture of him. Apparently Cinderella was born to a wealthy family, but after her mother died her father remarried. After his death (reason undisclosed) the stepmother, and her two step daughters, Drizella and Anastasia, treat her very badly. You know how the story goes from there.

Question 3: Where is Cinderella’s Mommy?

Answer: We were unable to find a name or picture for Cinderella’s mommy. If you have heard of her or seen her please report your findings to the comment section of this post. It would be greatly appreciated.

Ultimately, there are many lessons that Lucy has already taught us and there will be many more lessons to come. A lot of these lessons are abstract, but not today. Today, Lucy was very excited to learn the facts about some of the people she interacts with daily. I could hear the excitement in her voice when she announced to mommy, “Look, Ariel’s mommy and Cinderella’s daddy!”

Thanks “on-line” for your help and thank you Lucy for teaching me something new today.