Not all battles are won in public, with cheering crowds, the toughest ones are won privately at homes.

TheMFP.com

I laid there in bed, refusing to move, or even open my eyes. I can't get up, not now. I want to stay here where it's safe. My room is quiet and peaceful. The light from the sun is *barely* streaming in. I just can't get up. I heard my husband talking to the kids outside of our room.

Natron5000: Your mom, she's not doing so good today.

The Artist: Is there anything I can do?

Natron5000: I'm not sure.

The Brainiac: But dad, she's The Mother Freakin' Princess, can't she fight it?

Natron5000: Son, even princesses have their weaknesses. 

That's when I knew it was true. My archenemy, The Thing*, was back. It's been my enemy for as long as I can remember. I've been doing a good job at keeping The Thing at bay, but it must have gotten through my defenses. I rolled over and wept. All the glitter, tutus, pink hair, and horses unicorns couldn't keep this thing away.

Morning became afternoon. I dragged myself out of bed. The Brainiac was working on his newest invention. The Artist was experimenting with her ukulele, but not really making any music. Natron5000 was going over engineering specs for his new super hero suit. He smiled at me. My eyes glazed over. I was unreachable and he knew it. He continued to try by wrapping his arms around me and holding me close to his chest. He stroked my hair and told me it would be okay. I cried softly and refused to believe him.

The Artist left to volunteer at the hospital. Every Tuesday she used her powers in the hospice wing. Her music would make the patients feel better. It has the most calming effect on people (unless she's angry - then not so much). It's almost like she can put them in a trance full of love and hope. It's not fair that I'm immune to her talent.

A friend stopped by to pick up The Brainiac so he wouldn't miss his Young Inventors meeting. He's in the middle of a mini-flying-car project. That kid can invent anything! He kissed me good bye and told me he loved me. Small tears trickled down my cheek when he left. I'm thankful for my family and my friends, but I don't feel like I deserve them.

I spent the afternoon laying on the couch ignoring phone calls, texts, and the internet. The Thing had a tight grip on me. I could feel it's invisible hands pulling me further and further down. Then I saw something, a flash of light, a sparkle...

Barely visible, under the couch was my tiara. I let my arm drop down to the floor. If only I could reach it. The Thing tightened it's grip. I let out a loud sob. Natron5000 rushed to my side. He spoke softly, "You can do this. You can reach it. It's all up to you."

I took a deep breath, wiped the tears from my face, reached under the couch and grabbed my tiara. With my tiara in hand, I ran to the bathroom, and looked in the mirror. With a tear stained face and frazzled hair I declared this battle over. Today The Thing would not win.

"Not all super heroes get their powers from gadgets, capes, radio active spiders, or a power ring. Some of us just need to put on our tiara."     ~The MFP

*The Thing was played by The Deep Dark Hole

From the Judges 

 

Part of me wants to say that this was a BRILLIANT take on this assignment, but the other part wants to say that this wasn't really what the intention of the assignment was. I'm pretty torn on how to feel about that. With that being said, I thought the post was written wonderfully. I feel like maybe someone would have had to have been 'there' to get it, so I'm not sure it's something that is very relatable (although I know a lot of people deal with this), but I get it, and I think you put it into beautiful words. You didn't have a tangible 'bad guy', and no part of the assignment instructions ever said their had to be a bad guy, but the enemy was still there. Another part that I'm torn about, for the same reasons I mentioned above, are the super powers. They are like, real-life 'powers', but they aren't what I expected out of this assignment. The point of the assignment was to write some fiction, and I feel like this was more of a 'based on true events' type of thing, somewhere between fiction and non-fiction.
-Tessa Taboo 

While you didn't express your superpower, I think the subtleness of it was there. You had to overcome it when you faced your enemy. I do think that this was an interesting approach, to write more about your lack of power than your abundance of it. Dark post, but it fits with the subject matter. That being said, I think this post was not enough content. I think you could have expounded on the struggle more, and what "powers" you had to utilize to overcome it.
 -SooperDad Blog of Awesome 

I'm going to break from the pack a little bit here and say I really loved this post. I didn't know about your blog before this contest, so I don't think I fit into the "regular reader" category, but I followed just fine, and I appreciated it.

Was this exactly the assignment? No. But I think you stayed "on topic" enough for it to count (for me, anyway).

I really struggled with this assignment last year (though we were vampires) because I just didn't feel like I was being true to myself and my writing when I had to write on the topic, but I feel like you stayed true to you and your blog. And I really commend you for that. The princessy-ness of the MFP shined through so clearly in this post...I loved the ending and I related to you in a way that I haven't yet in this contest.
 -The Spaghetti Westerner

Wow, I'm so sorry, but this piece lost me. I felt confused. I wasn't really sure what was going on. I'm definitely a fan, MFP...but I'm afraid this was not one of your best.
-Mommy in Law 

Princess, I have to say that I really enjoyed this post; although, I'll admit that I enjoyed it much more the second time through. On first reading, I wasn't sure I followed you, but once I got through it, I had an "ah-ha" moment, and suddenly there was context.

There's a level of emotional depth here that the other posts are missing. Even though it felt a bit rushed--short, even--you really told us something about a day in your life, while adding the superhero touches we were looking for.

I'll say to you what I said to Dad and Buried in Week 1: Don't let the promise of immunity get in the way of quality writing. I think this post really could have benefited from a couple of revisions. Overall, a very good post.
 -From the Bungalow 

If someone was reading you for the first time, this post would be completely over their head. I understand the battle of good (you) versus evil (the Thing), but it would have been better to demonstrate how you in fact did have to use your own "super powers" to defeat your enemy. It is a powerful post, and one that I think your regular readers will appreciate. Your writing is amazing and I could feel your struggle, I am just not sure it was for me as far as this assignment goes.
-You Know It Happens At Your House Too (Guest Judge)