Fairy vs. Family

So tonight I heard sniffiling from my oldest daugther's room. I assumed she was frightened because she was alone. When I asked her she said that wasn't it. A few questions later I came to find out her state of unhappiness was due to the fact that she didn't know if fairies could have families. Why would that matter you might ask? She has been seriously considering taking the "fairy oath" and becoming a fairy. One of her dear friends at school is the tooth fairy. She speaks about fairies daily. Reads fairy books. Buys fairy stationary. She is on a fairy trip.
She said, " I don't know if I can be a fairy because they might not be able to families. And since families are the most important thing..." I asked her if she could be a fairy at night, and our little girl during the day. I told her I was willing to become a fairy too if she wanted. But she informed me adults can't be fairies. But that's not the family she was concerned about. She doesn't want to be a fairy if it means she can't have her own family some day. To her it is important to be a mother.
Now I know this seems trite. But for her it feels very real. And to me it was amazing. Tears came to my eyes as I realized the depth of her commitment to something she knows is important compared to something she would really, really like to do.
I think in life there are many things we would like to do. Things that would be awesome, fabulous, fun, adventureous, etc. But most often we choose what is important, many times daily in fact. And though often it is all of those things previously mentioned it can also be a lot of work, is filled with a lot of monotony, and requires stupendous amounts of patience.
I learned a lot from my sweet little girl tonight. A life lesson I often need to remind myself of especially while doing the dishes or laundry.