The story of Anna in the Disney movie Frozen is, to me, one of love, fun, games, and then, sadness.  Once Anna was hurt by Elsa, all fun that Anna and Elsa had was immediately halted, and Anna grew up in a very lonely home.  Elsa did as well, of course, but we discussed her last week, so today, we are going to focus on Anna.

I absolutely love the way Disney worked all of the emotions into such a simple question “Do you want to build a snowman?”  In the beginning, that question signalled the start of fun for the girls.  Then, after the accident, that question was meant to illicit a return to the love they had when they were younger.  That continued until the day their parents died — and with that passing, instantly Anna and Elsa were thrown into the deep end of having to swim on their own.

Now, all of a sudden, the question “Do you want to build a snowman?” wasn’t about playing, or having fun, or anything like that.  Suddenly, in the blink of an eye, that question became about returning to the life they had before their parents died.  Suddenly, building a snowman was to return to the carefree days of their youth, about turning back the clock, the hands of time; building a snowman was about returning their parents to them.  That was, to me, the saddest part of the entire movie.

I think, in many ways, we all ask the question “Do you want to build a snowman?” of ourselves in times of sorrow; I know that when Cindy’s Uncle Bob passed away, some small part of me — the human side of me that wanted him back — wanted to build that snowman and bring Uncle Bob back, despite the fact that I knew he was in a far better place.

What life event have you had happen that you wanted to build a snowman and turn back the sands of time?  If you are comfortable sharing it, we would love to hear it.  Thank you for stopping by and reflecting with us on how we all try to build a snowman.