Last week, my niece turned four years old. Although she can act strangely sometimes and say the oddest things, in many ways she is just like any other four-year-old girl growing up in the Midwest. She loves catching lightning bugs at night, she loves to play and laugh and run, and, of course, she loves "Frozen."
Since its release in 2013, "Frozen" has taken this country by storm, even prompting some to say it’s the best movie Disney has released since "The Lion King." Any product you can find for a little girl, you can find covered in pictures of the "Frozen" sisters, Elsa and Anna. Anyone with a young girl in their life has probably seen this movie more times than they’d care to admit, me included.
My niece is no different from the hundreds of thousands of little girls across the country that cannot get enough of this Disney duo and all their friends. When my little niece was asked what she wanted for her birthday, all she said was that she wanted everything from "Frozen." Her mother, my sister-in-law, decided to have a "Frozen"-themed birthday for her and her best friend, who turned five the same week.
Being the devoted aunt that I am, I rented an Elsa costume and spent hours making myself look just like the ice queen herself. So, on a hot June afternoon, Queen Elsa arrived at a small park in Indianapolis to wish her two favorite girls a happy birthday.
When I first arrived, I could only think about the heat. A winter-themed princess dress in the middle of summer wasn’t the best idea, but my niece, of course, deserved the absolute best. I was a little excited to dress up like a princess and parade around taking pictures all day, but what I didn’t expect was how much fun I would actually have.
But what made the experience worthwhile surprised me. It wasn’t getting all dressed up. It wasn’t even seeing my niece’s face light up when she saw her favorite aunt dressed as her favorite princess. The real highlight of my day as Elsa was a two-year-old girl I’d never even met. Standing among a crowd of children running around the park, I looked down to see one little girl staring directly at me, tears in her eyes. Her mom whispered to me that she thought I was really Elsa! The girl ran to me and hugged my legs, saying, "I love you, Elsa!" She was so excited, I couldn’t help but just pick her up and spin her around. Through withering heat and smiling for pictures so much my face hurt, one little girl’s excitement over meeting a real live princess made it all worthwhile.
Every girl, no matter what age, has dreamt about becoming one of the princesses they loved as a child, and I was no different. I loved the idea of wearing a crown all day (what girl doesn't?), but I didn’t realize how much it would mean to all the kids and how wonderful it made me feel to make their dreams come true. To anyone who is given the opportunity to do something like this, I suggest taking it. It was an amazing experience that I will cherish forever.
However, if you do dress up like Elsa, watch your back because they may just dump the freezing cooler water on you! I guess they figured the cold wouldn’t bother me anyway.
