Somewhere, over the rainbow,
way up high,
there’s a land that I heard of,
once in a lullaby.
If the Sex and the City ladies are my best adult girlfriends,
then Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz gang were my dear childhood playmates.
You see,
for me,
The Wizard of Oz was more than a film.
More than a musical,
or the first colorful movie to light up the screen.
When I was a toddler,
The Wizard of Oz was my life.
I watched this movie every day,
twice a day.
My mom was no longer “mom”.
She was Scarecrow .
My dad was no longer “dad”.
He was Tin Man.
And, of course,
I was Dorothy.
Ms. Gale, if you nasty.
You see, not only would I watch the movie,
I would live the movie.
I knew every song by heart,
and would spout out each line from memory.
Naturally, when I was pregnant,
my husband and I took my daughter to see the ruby slippers at the Smithsonian.
She was in my belly, of course, but I’m sure she stared,
with wonder,
nonetheless.
She is my daughter, after all.
And now, it comes as no surprise that her favorite song just so happens to be “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”.
How do I know this,
you ask?
I mean, she does blab, and all,
but it’s not always so easy to translate.
I know that it is her favorite, because not only does she smile and coo and kick her legs when I sing this song,
but she opens her mouth wide, cranes her little neck, and tries to actually sing along.
And no, this is not just me being crazy.
She tries to sing.
Which makes my heart sing.
When I watch her eyes light up,
as I sing her this story of my childhood,
I can’t help but to picture a future of dress-up and dancing and Dorothy, Oh My!
It feels right.
It makes me so happy that I could just click my heels.
I think you get the picture.
I look forward to many trips to Oz together.
Although, does this mean that now she gets to be Dorothy?
Oh well,
as long as I still get to wear my ruby slippers,
it’s all good.