Beauty and the Beast or First Song on Belle, they are the same in my mind

Most people are familiar with Disney's version of "Beauty and the Beast".  Of course, it is a wonderful love story with the classic fairy tale ending you'd expect.  The Disney channel aired it this evening as part of their holiday scheduling; but what I am reminded most about Beauty and the Beast is not the story but the memories of watching it with a very special young girl, my daughter and let me share the story.

Naturally, like so many parents, I watched a number of Disney movies with my daughter when she was a preschooler, some more than others.  However, Beauty and the Beast became our favorite because of its introductory song.  Even though we may not have had time to watch the entire movie each time, we frequently would watch it through Belle's opening song.  Then, it might have been off for a bath , a bedtime story, and a rendition of "star of the day" from the old Community Opticians before tucking her in for the night.  As a result of only watching that first song on those occasions, "Beauty and the Beast" became known to us as "The First Song on Belle".

Holidays are frequently about traditions, and watching "Beauty and the Beast" reminded me of a tradition that my daughter and I developed many years ago.  Although we no longer practice this particular one, it was quite easily resurrected in my mind with nothing more than this visual cue, and all those same wonderful memories resurfaced almost immediately.  Even though "Beauty and the Beast" is one of Disney's all time classics, it will always be known to me as "First Song on Belle", a real life fairy tale for me, no matter how I look at it!