Thursday, April 28, 2011

Where Were You When?

Where were you when John Lennon died (1962)?
Where were you when JFK was assassinated (1963)? 
Where were you when Elvis died (1977)?

Three questions that most in the generation before me can answer. 

In my short 22 years, I have had several similar experiences.

Where were you when the O.J. Simpson verdict was delivered (1995)?
Where were you when the first plane hit on September 11 (2001)?
Where were you when President Ronald Reagan died (2004)?

I can answer all of these questions. However, for me, my most memorable "where were you when" moment came the moment I found out that Princess Diana had died.

To be specific, I was in the car with my dad on Hicks Road in Sevierville, Tennessee. Pretty good for an eight year old, huh?

I had known previously who Princess Diana was, but it was at this moment that I became quite captivated by Diana, Princess of Wales. I remember thinking, "a real life princess has died?" 
That next year, I completed by first "big girl" book report. To be honest, it was probably the first "real" book I had read, unless you count The Baby Sitters Club.
The book I chose was a biography of Princess Diana. And, I thought I was captivated before? I fell in love with everything Princess Diana. Her life, her children, everything. I even decided then that I will wear a blue dress in my engagement pictures, whenever those may happen...

One of the best things about the book report was that we got to dress up as the historical figure we were doing our report on. So, of course, I wore my Pre-Teen Fairest of the Fair crown to school. Did you expect any less? Just like every other little girl, I can honestly say that I seriously thought that someday I would be a princess. It couldn't be that hard, right? 

My glamour shot after I was named Sevier County Pre-Teen Fairest of the Fair!
 I really did become a princess! 
Part of My Project on Princess Diana
 So, now that you understand my long time obsession with Princess Diana, you can probably only imagine how excited I am about the Royal Wedding. Like most girls/women, I've spent the last week watching every second of pre-wedding hype. Here are a few things I'll be looking for:

  • The Dress: Will Kate's dress have a train? If so, will it be long like Diana's? To be as long or longer than Diana's, it will have to be over 26 feet long! HOLY COW! MY BET: Kate might have a train, but she will not try to out-do Diana's. Kate doesn't want to (and shouldn't try to) compete with anything Diana did. There will already be enough comparisons, she needs to stay as far away from that as she can.
  • The Hair: Traditionally, Royal Brides wear their hair up (however, Fergie did wear hers half up, half down). MY BET: Kate will wear not wear her hair up. One of her most envious features (besides having perfect skin, a perfect figure, oh yea, and becoming a princess) is her hair. She might pull some of it back away from her face, but I would be seriously surprised if she goes for an up-do.
  • The Mood: Will Kate and William look happy? I don't know about you, but watching replays of Diana and Charles' wedding, they just didn't look happy. MY BET: Wills and Kate will be beaming. Diana was 20 when she married Charles. Kate is much older, 29, and much more mature. Her and William have been dating for at least seven years. They are the real deal. We will be able to feel the love even through our TV sets across the pond.
  • The Departure: Traditionally, the mother of the groom and the father of the bride depart the ceremony together, with their carriage directly following the bride and groom. (With the father of the groom and mother of the bride following in the next carriage) How will this work? MY BET: I honestly have no idea how this is going to work out. Will Mr. Middleton ride alone to the palace? Will the Queen ride with Mr. Middleton in Diana's place? Who knows. All I know is that Camilla Parker Bowles best not step foot in that carriage. She better know not to try to replace Diana. 
There are many, many more things I will be looking for tomorrow, but I'll leave you with these.

My hopes for tomorrow:
  • Good Weather
  • Calm Nerves for Wills and Kate
  • The Beginning of a Rare Successful Life of a Royal Couple
  • And for little girls all over the world to become captivated by Princess Kate, just as I was by Princess Diana. Every little girl should be able witness a real life fairy tale.






"Here is the stuff of which Fairy Tales are made... the Prince and Princess on their wedding day, but Fairy Tales usually end at this point with the simple phrase, 'they lived happily ever after'... this may be because Fairy Tales regard marriage as a anti-climax after the romance of courtship... this is not the Christian view, our faith sees the wedding day, not as the place of arrival, but the place where the adventure really begins..."

1 comment:

  1. You are seriously the only one who can talk about the Royal Wedding and not make me want to throw things at you. Love you!

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