I love fairy tales.
I, like so many other girls, grew up watching all the Disney cartoons and dreaming of the day my prince would appear. I bought into the whole scene hook, line, and sinker.

Okay, maybe I didn’t think I would marry an actual prince (because how many of those are really out there?), but someone would come along who at the very least *acted* like a prince. He would see me across a room, fall madly in love with me, and we would marry in the morning.
After all, wasn’t that the way it was supposed to go?

Let me tell you, that’s not the way it happened.

I’ve told our story on this blog before, but just in case you missed it, my husband is not a prince.
He has no crown or subjects or even any royal blood.
He has no white horse, no castle, and no throne.
He did not see me and instantly fall in love. There was no love-at-first-sight for either of us. I was still dancing and singing with woodland creatures, “Someday my prince will come…” for quite sometime after we met.
We definitely were not married in the morning.
I did not get my fairy tale. Let’s be honest, who did? …Well, besides Princess Kate?

What I got was drastically different, and infinitely better.

My husband is a real man, not an imagined, flawless, perfect man portrayed by Disney princes.
He has a few quirks that I thought were cute when we were dating, but they tend to be met with an eye roll today.
He wakes up with morning breath and his beard going in 20 different directions.
He can be grumpy in the mornings (but I am WAY worse than he is in that area so I really can’t say anything about that), and he is whiny when he’s sick.
He is a real man.

He is not a wealthy, spoiled, got-the-world-on-a-string kind of guy.
He works hard for what he has and has done everything he can to provide everything I need and everything he thinks I would want.
We may not have a massive castle with a drawbridge and moat, but he has given me a lovely home that is perfect for us.
He may wear an Alabama cap instead of a crown and overalls instead of a kingly robe, but that fits with me much better.
He drives a Toyota instead of riding a noble steed and sits in a recliner instead of on a throne.
He is not a prince or the “perfect man,” but he is most definitely the perfect man for me.
I’ll take real over imaginary any day of the week….and so should you.

As much as I love them, there are a lot of misconceptions due to fairy tales.
Don’t waste time trying to find someone who doesn’t exist.
I’m not saying don’t have high standards. By all means, keep those standards high and make sure they measure up…but make sure they are the right ones, and keep them realistic.
If you’re waiting for the perfect guy, you will always end up disappointed and you may just miss *your* perfect guy.

If you’ve already found him, remember what made you fall in love with him in the first place.
Maintaining a good relationship is hard, but it’s worth every ounce of blood, sweat, and tears you can pour into it.
I love being married and I love spending time with this man who has the ability to make me laugh, dry my tears, and drive me crazy.

I don’t have a traditional fairy tale, but I have the love of a real man and a life I wouldn’t trade for all the movies in the world.
Happily Ever After looks a little differently than I imagined it, but it does exist.
Instead of a prince, God gave me a preacher. And as for royal blood, well, it turns out Jesus gave him some of that too.

Just call me Cinderella.