Things I learned from Gail Carson Levine

... are numerous.
Despite the fact that I blame her entirely for my total lack of love life purely because she introduced me to Prince Charmont at the tender age of eight and I have been looking for him ever since - despite that, which is no small matter, I owe Gail Carson Levine quite a lot.

The summer I turned eight years old I had three prized possesions:
1. My copy of N*SYNC's No Strings Attached CD
2. The teal boombox I bought from K-Mart after months and months of saving
3. Gail Carson Levine's Ella Enchanted
I brought these things everywhere with me. I listened to that CD at least 1,000 times and I read that book, cover to cover, at least 100 times. I would finish and flip right back to the front, immersing myself in Ella's world of Kyrria all over again.

I learned a lot of things that summer. I learned about a young girl's power of spirit, about the importance of wit, about love that demands sacrifice. I learned how to think about other people and how to deny yourself. I also became the biggest expert on Orges living at 270 Bahr Dr.

So - fast forward fifteen years and zoom in on Current Me, crossing through the Whole Foods parking lot, after having bought lunch for my boss and the designer and director she was in a meeting with. I was, as is my wont, thinking about someone and I remembered something from Ella Enchanted.

After Ella has lost Char, she remembers what she loved most about their time together. She was always able to charm him, which pleased her, but what really brought her joy was when she could surprise him. She wielded her wit like another girl would bat her eyelashes and what Ella loved most was to try to charm him, to strive to make him laugh, to really work to show him a side of her personality he hadn't seen before. When she could bring out that startled laugh of his, she knew she'd captured his attention.

Today I noticed that he seem focused on something other than what was going on and I asked if he was alright. He said, "I'm in pain and breathing through it." I responded, "Mental pain or physical pain?" He gave me one of Char's startled laughs in return, surprised by my question. I got a smile too and he said, "Physical pain."
Like Ella, that was the best for me.