To Whom It May Concern

Before I get into this post, I want to clarify something up front: I am NOT making fun in any way! In fact, some of you may not even see the humor in the little story I'm going to tell, in which case all I can say is, "You'd have had to be there."

Darcy is a bona fide fairy fanatic! She loves fairies, all kinds. She checks out every book she can find on the subject and is a huge fan of a series of Disney books with titles like Rani in the Mermaid Lagoon and the like. So it was with great anticipation that she went to the library on Monday to pick up a book she had on reserve entitled Learn to Draw the Fairies of Pixie Hollow. Bless her heart, even now as I think back to the scenario that unfolded, it makes me laugh but sorta want to cry at the same time. See, she very painstakingly got all of the supplies she thought she'd need to spend an afternoon drawing fairies to her heart's content. Newspaper (to protect the table surface), paintbrushes and about twelve bottles of colored paints, water to rinse her brushes, a pencil and paper for sketching, the whole nine yards.

Not long after Darcy got down to business, I began to hear a pattern of "sniffing" that has become somewhat familiar over the years. Now Darcy suffers just a touch from allergies and the pollen count IS high in the area this week, but my radar told me that ragweed was not to blame for the sniffles. Without stopping what I was doing in another room, I called, "Darcy, is everything okay?" "NO!" came the muffled, teary reply. "They said this was supposed to be fun and easy but it's not fun OR easy!" Oh, the agony! Okay, I'm sure that doesn't seem that funny to you, but seriously, after comforting her and encouraging her, I just had to laugh (to myself) because Darcy just kept spitting out those words, "It's supposed to be fun and easy and it's not!" It's like one of the "miracle" products you can buy in stores that promise the impossible and deliver . . . well, they deliver what you might expect. Well, sure enough, emblazoned there on page 3 were the words, "You can draw any fairy by following the simple steps in this book. You'll be amazed at how fun and easy it is!" Betrayal had taken place. The damage was done. I finally steered Darcy toward an art book better suited for beginners and she and Peyton did have a wonderful afternoon drawing and painting when all was said and done.

Fast forward to Tuesday: The kids were learning how to write "business letters." With the disappointment still fresh in her mind, Darcy set out to take Disney to task. Take a look at what she wrote in an excerpt of her letter:

Dear Walt Disney Company:

I would like to ask a few questions. There's a book where you can draw the fairies of Pixie Hollow. I got it from the library and I tried to draw Rani, the water-talent fairy and Tinker Bell, the pots-and-pans fairy. But I couldn't! Even my mom couldn't draw one! She thinks it's probably for expert artists or something. I want to be an artist when I grow up. But could you possibly make a book where you can draw the same fairies, only a little easier?"

I absolutely love how Darcy decided to go to the source to try to find a solution to her problem! I so hope they send her a reply, though I know it's a long shot. She probably has as much chance of receiving a positive reply as Tyler has of receiving one to the question in his letter to the Lego Corporation: "When are you going to make some of your BIG sets more affordable?" Now that's a question I'd like an answer to!