Grief, options, and the princess manquée

You can only choose between the available options.

A lot of what passes for grief at loss is really the loss of a reality that never was and never will be.

It's the wailing of the child that is told it cannot be a princess.

I wish my son were not a fool.

I wish my house was not a mess.

I wish the cow was full of milk.

I wish the walls were full of gold—

I wish a lot of things ...

Into the Woods , Stephen Sondheim