A Queen for my Life

When I was 20 years old, I read about a writing contest in the newspaper.  The winner of the contest would be honored at the Renaissance Festival and treated like a queen, including a parade and royal seating at the joisting tournament.  The question was:

If you were queen for the day, what would you do?

I thought all day about the question.  Wow!  It was fun to imagine what it must be like to be a queen, but my ideas always fell short.  What would I change?  I loved my life.  I loved my job as a nanny.  I loved my family and my little beater Toyota Corona hatchback.  If I was a queen, what part of my life would I be willing to give up?

Would I want more money?  In theory yes, but I knew money couldn’t buy happiness.  Would I want to quit my job so I could go to school full-time?  I loved my Erica.  She was my best friend and enjoyed every minute with her.

Erica and I in Sun Valley, Idaho

 Even though it would take me four years to get my associates degree at the local community college, I enjoyed the journey more then finishing the race. 

Alright, maybe I would be skinnier, but really, if I was a queen would I have more self-control?

The next morning, on a whim, I wrote an idea I had on a piece of paper.  I sealed it in an envelope, put a stamp on it and mailed it to the Renaissance Festival.

One week later, I received a phone call.

“Is this Laura,” the woman on the other end of the phone said.

“Yes, this is she,” I replied.

“I am from the Renaissance Festival and we’ve selected you as the winner of our writing contest.  We would like to invite you out as our guest to be queen for the day.  Do you have a king who would like to join you?”

In other words, did I have a boyfriend?

I had just turned in my mission papers and boyfriends were out of the question, so I invited my dad to be my king, because really, I felt like he was the best dad in the whole wide world and if ever there was a king in my life, it was him.

The day of the festival, my dad, including my mom and brothers and sisters were greeted by a royal court.  

I'm not sure what my little brother Sam is doing with his smile, but he's adorable anyway.

I was escorted into a dressing room where I was fitted for a gown and a crown.  My dad, also was dressed in proper attire and we attended our royal feast.  

Next, we were honored at a parade, pulled in a horse-drawn carriage where we were applauded by those in attendance.  Finally, off to the joisting contest where I was introduced and applauded by the crowd.  It was so much fun.

But, at the end of the day, after all the photos and gifts and attention, I was happy to go back to my life, the life I loved.

So, what did I write in that letter?

Due to the fact I’m already treated like a queen by family and friends, if I was queen for a day I would simply be myself.