May 23 2011
THE Ariel bottle
On the way to visit Uncle William, Aunt Lucy and baby Isaiah, we stopped at a gas station that sold juice in bottles with characters on the top. Annada was being such a trooper in the car, I wanted to get her something fun. So I let her pick out one. She picked out the Minnie Mouse one but asked if she could get the Ariel one next time. Naïvely I said yes thinking we had a lot of stops ahead of us.
Annada became enamored with the Ariel bottle to be. She talked about it and dreamed out loud about it. And at each gas station she pulled Erica and I around to look for it.
Except we never found one.
I told her it was like an Easter Egg hunt: we just had to keep looking. So for 3 weeks every time we got in the car Annada would say, “We stop at a gas station, Mommy? I want to hunt for the Ariel bottle.” The sweet kiddo never forgot.
For my part, I looked up the company and found a list of gas stations that should carry them. We drove there. No bottles. I did more research – you can order them on Amazon. Except, now you can’t. They are discontinued. I even went to the Disney store to try to find a substitute. Apparently Ariel is not a hot princess right now – no Ariel bottles.
Meanwhile, Annada continued to ask sweetly and persistently for the Ariel bottle. Erica and I felt horrible. Annada even started praying that we would find it.
Then, after 3 weeks of this, one of my teammates – Leanne – walked into a YearOne brunch and said, “Annada, I have a surprise for you.”
SHE HELD OUT THE EXACT BOTTLE ANNADA WANTED!
I just stared. “But I didn’t tell you!” I exclaimed.
“Tell me what?” She replied. “I saw these in a store. I noticed Annada had the Minnie Mouse one and thought she might like Ariel.”
Meanwhile Annada was cradling her Ariel bottle in her arms like a baby.
Needless to say, that bottle went everywhere with Annada – even bed – for a week.
And I am in awe. I think God heard her prayers.
(I know she doesn’t look ecstatic in the pic with Leanne. Like me, Annada doesn’t smile when something huge happens in her world until she has had time to adjust. That face really means, “okay, I’m playing along with the picture, now please give me back my bottle.” But once the shock wore off, she was all smiles.)