Once upon a time, in a far from ordinary land, a little girl named Roxanne, often described as quite eccentric, became an expert in various kinds of trauma.  She grew and grew, all the while considering herself a survivalist by trade. Each morning the little girl would start her day with a positive outlook on life, determined to never stop searching for the long lost silver linings. She vowed, that no matter what, she would always dream of changing the world for better, one person and day at a time, through her tales and trials as a damsel in distress.

From the beginning, the little girl was on a journey which led her to many lands of evil, where cruel and merciless kings would reign.  She was determined to find the kindness in each kings’ heart, and find a place to call her new home. On the way, she stumbled upon a peasant or two who could give her nothing at the time, but needed her help regardless of their ability to return the favor. Each would promise that one day she would be repaid for her selflessness. The little girl accepted each of the peasants requests, not realizing how hard it would be or how soon she would be called upon to fulfill her purpose. She rarely thought of what she could gain, but how she could give instead, leaving her without a way to sometimes get by on her journey.

During the journey, one by one, she would come to find out that the kings were too bitter and cold to change while their cruelty rejected her suggestions to help the peasants. Now, feeling more ordinary than ever, she became hopeless and considered herself unworthy of any thanks the peasants would give her. The little girl never forgot the peasants and their chance meetings, but still, she spiraled into a pit of despair. She aimlessly wandered away from the kingdom, not sure where to look or even what to look forward to. She found her self in a land similar to that of the cruel kings, but this time, with a fire breathing dragon that pursued and threatened her life.

Then one day, the little girl found a child in search of helping the peasants as well. Unbeknownst to her, the child was a prince in disguise, looking to find someone with a pure heart to help rule the kingdoms with love. With the child’s help, she broke free from the vicious dragon and this time embraced her love for the peasants. The child and the girl became experts in searching for the needs of the peasants together. They spent their time serving and giving because of the goodness not goods, because of the enlightenment, not entitlement, because of their sense of purpose, not profit. They both agreed that while it is important to have means to eat and sustain life, there is more to life than owning a kingdom, and they shared the wealth of the king-to-be with all of the people of the land. They avoided evil kings, but embraced their kingdoms needs and taught through modeled behavior how to gain followers.

Finally, all of the peasants in the land would leave their old kingdoms to follow and serve the girl and prince who cared for them, and would pay for their service through doing good deeds of their own. This left the evil kings without anyone to serve them, which would show them that caring for your kingdom is more important than owning one. And the girl and the prince and all the people of the land lived happily ever after.

Roxanne holds many titles in life, but her favorite so far are wife, mother and friend. She has become an ordinary expert as daughter, sister, best friend, worst enemy, caregiver, bar room bully, counselor, entrepreneur and community builder through her many trials in search of her peasant King. She’s also becoming an expert in pulling weeds along the path.

She lives in Philadelphia with her firefighter-of-the-year husband, Sean, life-saving educators a.k.a. children, Breanna, Aydan, and Jeremiah, and her “who rescued who” pitbull, Abby. These are the ordinary experts helping write the continuation of her happily ever after story. Along with all of you, that are reading this blog.

“Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.” ~G.K. Chesterton