I Don’t Want a Fairy Godmother But I Might Want to Be One

“I wish I had some sort of fairy godmother. I think everyone who is suddenly dropped into an unlikely change of circumstance should get his or her own version of a fairy godmother.” – Natalie Taylor

The traditional Cinderella-variety Fairy Godmother never appealed to the realist in me. I’m not a woman who has spent any time fantasizing about a magical wardrobe made with the help of birds and mice and riding in a pumpkin horse-drawn carriage in order to go to a ball to attract a wealthy man.

In her memoir, Signs of Life, author Natalie Taylor uses the analogy of a fairy godmother as a way to self-nurture through some of the darkest days after losing her husband in a freak accident a few months before giving birth to their son. Worried about raising her child alone painfully aware of her husband’s sudden absence, she longs for a wizened woman to answer parenting questions with directness and a little bit of sass.

I want to be a fairy godmother. I want to give sassy advice that cuts through all the bullshit about “the way things are supposed to be.” It seems like everyone I know is inundated with conflicting perspectives keeping them powerless to make decisions in their lives. Working mom vs. stay-at-home mom. Keeping a job you hate vs. finding a job you love. Staying married vs. getting divorced. These are just a few of the big choices that can change the trajectory of your life.

It’s hard to stay objective when you’re facing painful, life circumstances because your choices can easily be clouded by doubt, anxiety, hesitation, excuses and guilt. Fear has many names. No choice you make will ever be right or wrong, unless you decide to make it right or wrong. You can follow a path of reasoning for any situation and justify one choice over the other based on your view of the way life is. If you only look at the way you think life is, the way you think may actually cloud your ability to see things as they are. That’s why people see therapists, life coaches, pastors and lawyers.

So, why not a fairy godmother otherwise known as me?

I get it. The word “fairy” conjures up a unicorn-loving dreamer living in la-la land with a Justin Bieber pillow. But without that word, some of the magic becomes lost, and it’s just the female version of Marlon Brando with a couple of cotton balls stuffed in her cheeks.

I want to help people find their own way by connecting them with the places inside themselves that already has all the answers–no matter what they’re facing. Everyone’s been through something, and all those somethings help define how you face the next thing and the next thing. Having someone guide you to face the places within yourself that terrify you–the places you think are beyond repair–also has the power to unleash the places where you’ve put a lid on your ability to experience love and joy. I want to be a part of that.

As a member of From Left to Write, I received a copy of the book. All opinions are my own.