Think Tink

Tinker Tude

            Ok you can all guess I'm a Tinker Bell fan. The question is why Tinker Bell not one of the strong and beautiful princesses. The answer is simple.

            Snow White was gentle and kind. She believed in returning kindness for kindness and never taking without giving. She ran instead of fighting to protect herself. Cinderella, while a great example of a good attitude in a bad situation and a reminder to keep dreaming, sat and waited for things to happen. What did Cinderella "do" to make her dreams come true? Both princesses are like many of the Disney princesses, good examples of grace under pressure and kindness in return for cruelty. They are good examples for kindness and civil behavior. They are not the modern idea of a strong capable woman.

            I'm a little person. I'm 4 feet 9 inches tall. All of my life people have over looked and ignored me. As a child I was always told I could not do things. I was treated as if I was three to five years younger than I was throughout my entire youth. When time came to pick teams for sports I was not the last picked I was not picked at all. I married my wonderful Pan daMan at the age of 21. On our wedding night we went to a little motel as a stopover on the way to our big destination. The desk clerk refused to give us the room my husband booked four months before because he thought I was underage. He refused to accept my ID as real. It took a couple of hours and a threat to call the police to get our room. When I was in my 20's and 30's and I was in line at fast food places or at the bank I often had the cashier/teller call out to the person behind me, "Next" because they thought I was a child with the person behind me. I felt insulted, ignored and useless. I was angry at being over looked. I felt the only way to get anything done and make people "see me" was to get angry. This did not work well. I finally came upon the idea of "Thinking Tink."

            To be seen and get anything done I've had to be like Tink. Tink is caring, strong of spirit, forceful, fiercely loyal to a fault and when she feels wrong feisty. She refuses to be ignored. She will never allow people to just walk all over her.  A little person could have a worse example than Tink. When people overlook you simply say, "Excuse me I was next, thank you." Stand up without being mean or rude. If that does not work then get more forceful as needed.

            Tink stands up for herself and her friends. She shows her feelings, both good and bad; you always know where you stand with Tink. She is willing and able to do things for herself and her friends. When she can't do something on her own she rallies her friends to help.

            So if you have a child that is on the smallish side or you yourself are a little person you could do worse than Thinking Tink. Think, I can do things myself.  I can tell people when they over look me and I feel slighted (no need to be rude when doing so). I can be loyal and caring. I can ask for help when needed. I can defend myself when the time comes, I am not helpless. I can spread a little joy and Pixie Dust every day to those around me.