Tales From the Windowsill

A little whimsy, a dash of daydream, and a sprinkle of pixy dust; that pretty much sums up my life-long love of Tinker Bell.

From the first time I saw Peter Pan with my Aunt Meta and begged her to take me to see it again and again, to sitting and watching it over and over and over when Disney released it on VHS; Tinker Bell was as integral to my life as was the childhood Winnie the Pooh books I grew up with, and like the books, I still fancy her to this day.

My Aunt Meta and Grandma used to tell me stories about how Tinker Bell and her sister pixies would come and visit them in the middle of the night. They’d perch themselves upon their windowsill and wait for the telltale flash, flash, flash, among the dusty blue hydrangeas. Every once in a while Aunt Meta and Grandma would sneak through the open window with Mason jars in hand and attempt to catch the elusive pixie and her sisters. I pictured them in their long old-fashioned nightgowns, giggling softly to one another as they’d sneak up unbeknown to the pixies and try to capture one.

Little did I know what they were trying to catch were, in fact, fireflies. Growing up in Southern California, fireflies were something out of fairy tales, and almost as magical as Tinker Bell herself. While I’d never seen a firefly I knew they existed and it was much the same with my beloved Tinker Bell. If I believed hard enough, and with just a pinch of pixie dust, sure enough, she’d be flitting outside my very own window one night. I wasn’t lucky enough, as a child, to witness the enigmatic creature. Yet I still hung onto my love of Tinker Bell and all things pixie.

Several years later when I was living in central Ohio, I was walking outside at dusk and thought I was seeing things; flash, flash, flash… Then, out of the corner of my eye, there she was! Tinker Bell! Not only was she there, but so were her sister pixies, in force! I stood there for some time, bewitched and bedazzled as they flitted about in the early evening as the sun set on the western horizon. I watched them dance and flutter from the mauve petals of the late spring roses to the happy yellow faces of the Gerbra daisies, sprinkling a bit of pixie dust on each petal they alighted upon.

I was momentarily transported back to a time when I’d sit by my window as a little girl while the breeze blew my curtains against my cheek, and imagine the soft strains of invisible harps and flutes accompanying the pixies as they danced and sang. In my adult world, I knew they were but fireflies, but I stood there, part woman, part child and reveled in being privy to a sight few humans ever witness…Tinker Bell herself and her sister pixies right there before me in the luminous hours of twilight, gracing me with a dance.

It is with as much, if not more, enthusiasm that I share my love of Tinker Bell with my not-quite 3 year old daughter, Gaby Rose.

Peter Pan is a bedtime favorite in our house, and we are especially excited whenever we glimpse sightings of Tinker Bell on television! I watched with amazement as Gaby Rose witnessed Tinker Bell for herself this summer, for the very first time, outside on our back deck.

Dusk was settling in, here along the New England coast, and as the waves crashed against the shore and the gulls soared overhead, she and I watched the tiny pixie dash between flower and leaf, and I listened to the excited squeals of delight as Gaby Rose sang to the pixie. I like to imagine that Tinker Bell sang back to her, in a voice that only my wee one could hear. The twinkle in my daughter’s eye was proof enough for me that pixies and especially Tinker Bell are real! In fact, I’m almost certain that the morning after Gaby Rose saw her first pixie, I saw the tiniest bit of pixie dust left behind on the leaves of the rose bushes that line our backyard. It might possibly have only been a firefly darting between flower and leaf, but deep inside my soul lies a child who sings out to the pixy in our back garden, and she reaches out to my daughter and encourages her to do the same.

You and your children can share in the magic as well! The long awaited and much anticipated Tinker Bell movie will be released on DVD and Blue Ray on October 28th! Maybe you and your little ones will catch a glimpse of my friend, Tinker Bell, too!

Don't forget to check out the sweepstakes where you can enter to win a Tinker Bell DVD!

This is a compensated post in partnership with BlogHer and Disney in honor of the new release, Tinker Bell, which will be available on DVD and Blue Ray on October 28th.