Walking on Wednesday | Do You Want to Build a Snowman?

I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m a dad who knows every word to “Do You Want to Build a Snowman”…not only do I know every word; I can play the part of Anna (quite believably I might add) or Elsa and re-enact the entire song as either character from the time little Anna excitedly knocks on Elsa’s bedroom door to when Anna is a teenager seated with her back against that same door with her head rested on her knees. Oh…and I should mention that I don’t like the movie Frozen. Before this statement shuts down the Internet and sends a mob of angry toddlers (and their moms) to our front door, let me explain. From a male movie viewer’s perspective, there’s no real villain until fifteen minutes before the end of the movie. Hans is delightful and courageous up until Anna returns for her one act of true love and the Duke of Weselton arrived as a possible antagonist, but turned up the coronation day party with his sweet dance moves. Not only that, but the movie is missing a ton of action scenes. And, isn’t anyone else curious as to why Elsa is the only one who has special powers?

Some would argue that the movie has been wildly successful because of its popularity, ticket/product sales, live action plays, and fandom, but I would say it falls short of its potential! Dear friends, fear not, I have a great idea for Frozen 2 “Ice Cold” which includes an unbridled romance between Elsa and Wolverine, an attack on Arenedelle by Megatron and a whole battle sequence where The X-Men team up The Transformers to save the city. Sven and Kristoff find out the carrots they’ve been sharing were grown next to a nuclear power plant and have given them the power of flight, Olaf…stays Olaf – he’s hilarious, and Anna discovers her final act of true love gave her a healing power greater than Rapunzel’s golden locks. Santa Claus shows up too (I mean, come on, now that there’s a flying reindeer it just makes sense), but I’ll let you see how it all unfolds once we’re done with production in the Fall of 2016.

…but I digress. So, if I don’t like Frozen, why have I listened to “Do You Want to Build a Snowman?” more times than the trolls have put down Kristoff’s self-esteem? Why have I watched the “Do You Want to Build a Snowman?” scene on repeat to make sure I know every word and the exact sequence of events? Why do I know that Olaf loves summer, Kristoff and Sven always share a carrot, Hans has 12 older brothers, Anna trusts new people way too much way too early, Oaken has an astute understanding of supply and demand, male trolls wear blue and/or green crystals (girl trolls wear pink and/or red) and that there’s a production flaw in the scene when Anna and Kristoff have to cut the rope to escape Marshmallow the snow monster? (the rope that was around their waists is gone when they get up from the snow) Why have I invested so much time into this…this…movie? Why can’t I just “let it go”? To put it simply; because Addy loves it.

Addy…she’s the Elsa to my Anna, the Sven to my Kristoff, and the summer to my Olaf. She knows almost every line to every song from the movie. She loves to sing, dance, and pretend so when I say, “Elsa” before tapping those five quick knocks on her bedroom door then go into , “do you wanna build a snow man…” I know she’s smiling on the other side. I can hear her get giddy and giggle when I mumble through the doorknob “it doeshn’t haf to be a schnow maaan”. Then, when she plays Anna she excitedly runs up and down the hallway. She breaks between scenes to reset and, for the final scene, slowly slides down her bedroom door with her four-year-old heart completely committed to the character of a grief stricken teenage princess. Addy gets so much joy from acting these scenes out and I am blessed to play a role in her happy little world. This is also so important for our relationship. Not only because it makes her happy, but because it is a way of letting her know that she is loved.

The other day while Addy was helping me wipe down the dresser in the master bedroom, she asked me “Daddy how do you get married?” With a smile, I told her, “Addy, you’re going to meet a lot of different boys in your life, but only marry the one who loves you like Daddy loves you.”

I’ll gladly learn every song, dance every dance, and even pretend to be a distraught teenage princess if it means I can always make that statement and mean it. The famous “love is” verse from 1 Cor. 13:4-7 describes love as being “patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” This is a powerful and true explanation of love. I could (and will) read that verse to Addy and Kellan time and time again, but they won’t know what it means unless I love them that way and love Stacy the same.

So, do I want to build a snowman? Not really. Do I want to sing a song I don’t particularly care for from a movie I don’t like? With Addy…any day of the week.

God Bless,

Steve