Beech Tree News Network

Like every other little girl in America, my granddaughter, Sabria, is obsessed with the movie, “Frozen.”  She is particularly drawn to the character, Elsa, not because she is a beautiful but tragically misunderstood young woman, but because Elsa has the power to freeze everything around her with a simple wave of her hand.  Sabria considers this a super power; hence this makes Elsa a super hero.  Several times a day, I will be interrupted from the task at hand because I have been “frozen” by Elsa, aka, Sabria Grace Hughes.
    My daughter, Natalie, bought tickets to see “Frozen on Ice” for our whole family, so on Thursday evening, Garey, Natalie, Sabria and I set off for the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.  A few weeks ago, I made an ice-blue dress for Sabria, complete with sparkly train—we’re still wearing the glitter.  Our friend, Carol  Deweese, braided her long blonde hair into an Elsa braid, and Natalie completed her look with blue eye shadow.  My granddaughter looked beautiful! 
    If you get the chance to see “Frozen on Ice,” I highly recommend it.  The production is staged by Disney, and it is one dazzling show.  We arrived at the arena in time to see hundreds of miniature Elsas and Annas emerging from vehicles, with parents in tow.   Natalie bought the tickets the day they went on sale, so we were on the floor level, right next to the ice.
    If you’ve ever been to an event like that one, you know that the ticket price is a drop in the bucket compared to the merchandising that takes place inside the arena.  There were bags of popcorn wearing Olaf (the snowman) hats, Elsa and Anna dolls, Elsa and Anna snow cone mugs, and—the Holy Grail of them all—a scepter with spinning lights.  The scepter was a bit out of my price range, so I opted for the snow cone mug.  I reasoned the ice would keep Sabria from getting thirsty.
    Garey offered to spring for the spinning light, but Natalie said, “No, Dad.  Sabria needs to learn to be thankful for what she has.  I don’t want her to be a spoiled little girl.”  Of course, Sabria didn’t agree.  She begged her mom for one of the spinning lights, but Natalie stood firm in her decision. 
    There was a mom with two little girls sitting next to us.  The girls each got a spinning light, a snow cone mug and Olaf popcorn.  That didn’t help the situation with Sabria, who stared longingly at the lighted scepter, but Garey and I try to honor our daughter’s decisions when it comes to how she chooses to raise her child, so we didn’t interfere. 
    When the show started, Sabria climbed onto her Papa’s lap and was quickly distracted by the spectacular on ice that was playing out before her.  She waved to all the characters and called out their names, hoping to catch an eye, when they skated anywhere near her.  I watched her watch the show more than I watched the show.  I love to see that kind of wonder in a child’s eyes.
    There was an intermission mid-way through the show, during which time, Sabria switched laps and crawled back onto mine.  The younger of the two girls sitting next to me climbed over her mother and older sister and approached Sabria with her lighted scepter.  “Here,” she said, “I want you to have this.”
    Sabria never hesitated, she accepted the gift immediately.  I looked to the mother for affirmation.  The mom nodded.  “She is learning the lesson of paying things forward,” the mom said.  Sabria thanked the little girl, I thanked the mom, and Natalie (who was sitting on the far side of me) whispered, “I wish she hadn’t done that.  I’m trying to teach my daughter to be grateful for what she has and not to always keep expecting more.”
    “You haven’t lost your teachable moment,” I told my daughter, “It just morphed into another one—a lesson in generosity.”
    On Friday, when Natalie and Sabria were packing clothes for her weekend at her father’s house, they went through the toy box looking for something they thought Sabria’s little sister might like.  (Although it’s a fight to the death, we make sure she takes good care of her toys, so most of them are in excellent condition.)  They settled on the electronic elephant that sneezes balls out of his trunk.
    John Lennon said something to the affect, “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.”  We can’t always be the directors in our children’s learning process, but we can embrace the lessons that land in their laps.