Ending a Great Year

There's another side of me that I haven't revealed here. I love pageantry. I love it so much that it's really my most demanding hobby. I am a director of a local Miss America preliminary and it's so much fun! My friends that help are just a hoot to plan events with and it's so much more than just a beauty pageant. It allows fellowship with friends; it's creating and executing events that raise scholarship money for deserving young women in our area; it's watching the growth of the young women put into our paths and their journey toward accomplishing a goal. I'm just blessed to be a part of it all.

We work year-round to raise money for our local organization. We also help get our local titleholders ready to compete on the state level. This is my favorite part. The relationships I grow through the queens and their families make the efforts worth it. I have been particularly blessed this past year. It was a successful year for our girls; one of them won the state title and the other was a top ten finalist and a preliminary winner at state. The other two queens also brought home awards from state as first time competitors. It was the first time that all of our girls had done so well. But their successes are not what we are celebrating. It's the amazing virtues these girls hold.

Now I have two littles one of my own and after encounters with "not so nice" competitors, I have learned to be extra careful as to whom I put in my daughter's paths. Who are role models and who they spend a lot of time with. What a blessing these titleholders this past year have been.

Their walk with God is impressive. I have been able to develop my own relationship with the Lord due to their impression upon me. They are faithful and compassionate when it comes to their faith. They are unwaivering in their beliefs and always put Him first. You'll often find them quoting the bible or some inspirational message posted on their facebook pages. It's never negative or bashing. More importantly, the message is not skin deep. They live it through and through.

They believe in the scholarship system this preliminary stands for. I've seen many girls graduate from college dept-free because of this system.

I have seen the four of them grow into mature young women this past year. Many of the same attributes I teach or encourage in my classroom, I'm able to imply with pageantry. Interview skills, poise, walking/modeling and developing a talent are all things that a good director helps with along the way.

But our time has almost come to an end. Our pageant is in two weeks and we'll have to hand over the titles to new winners. I am having a very hard time with this. I know it won't mean saying goodbye forever, but they will no longer have our title behind them as they compete or move forward this year. They know I'll always be there to support and encourage, but they'll have another director and other roads to take.

I realize this seems pathetic...it's just a pageant, right? Nope, that's not what this is. It's being a part of a journey where I'm able to witness amazing growth and develop a friendship that will stay with me forever. I am sad today and know pageant day will be tough.

Thank you sweet girls for allowing me to be a part of your lives this past year. You have blessed me more than you'll ever know!

Thank you "moms" for understanding and listening. You make the trip worth it and always have laughter to make it easier.

Meg, Savvy, Ashley & Maddie.....You have made my time and commitment to this organization memorable and more valuable than you'll ever know.

The Strong-Willed Kid

It’s day four of our snowed-in adventure. My girl’s school was closed today due to icy roads and I have a policy in my syllabi that if the public schools are closed, my classes are cancelled…lucky college kids. Not so lucky mom. I have cabin fever, but with little energy to do much more than a load of laundry and tend to my two girls. I had a major case of the stomach virus last Friday and I am still not feeling up to par. But…who cares, right? I got another day to recoup. This post is not about me, but rather my youngest strong-willed kid. My mother always referred to me as that kid. The one that was hard to make mind, and always full of energy. She has books stacked in the laundry room about how to raise a strong-willed child. I remember giving her a hard time. I was that kid…I now have one of my own. Here’s how the day began….

Ginny Grace is up before everyone. She starts with me, asking to climb into bed with us around 5:30 am. I tell her to go back to sleep. She goes and plays for about an hour before coaxing her older sister up to watch cartoons for a little bit before dad and mom are up and at ‘em. By 7:40 am dad is out the door for work and my girls are ready for the day. They want breakfast now! If I don’t tend to their demands right away, they will resort to getting food themselves. Let me rephrase that…Ginny Grace will get it herself. She takes chairs, stacks towels, books, whatever she can pile high in order to reach what she wants out of the pantry. This morning it was powdered donuts and chocolate covered donuts. You know, the kind that little kids can cram into their mouths and have eaten in about 20 minutes? Yep, my girls cleared the bags before I realized what they were doing…and why they had gotten so quite. They also found the stash of 7ups my husband had hid in the supply closet. A breakfast of champions.

My 7-year-old is obsessed with On Demand. She likes to have the power of choosing a movie by herself and thinks its super cool she knows how to operate it. I find her watching Twilight over and over again…and it’s because of On Demand my girls know EVERY word to the songs from MAMA MIA! Yes, I realize the connotation is not appropriate for kids this age, but I just laugh every time I hear them belt out “Take A Chance On Me.” It’s hilarious. This morning they watched Twlight and episodes of some silly fear-factor-type kids show. They were mesmerized, so I got a little laundry done. Then…they got quite again.

I have had what I refer to as Hurricane Ginny in my house today. She can literally go from one end of the house to the other and rip every room a new one. I had donuts in my room joining the mounds of clean laundry waiting to be folded, dolls in the living room, along with bracelets, blankets, coloring books, little green and pink purses…in the sitting room sat her pink car full of doll accessories and princess shoes to match all over the rug…cans of opened 7up and glasses of milk in the breakfast nook….just wait…makeup and hair stuff all over their bathroom…and everything from clothes hangers, random outfits of clothes, dolls and more dolls…last but not least, Wheat Thins all over the floor of her room. Not just on her floor, but crushed into her carpet and mostly shoved under the small space heater in her room. It made my day. Well I used the age-old method mothers have used for decades: bribery. “We will NOT go outside and play in the snow unless your rooms are picked up,” I threatened. Starling, being the sweet obedient girl she is…slipped into her bedroom, turned on the tv and plopped down in front of it. She knew there was no hope of an outside adventure with the opportunity depending on her little sister. Ginny Grace started her usual defiant spill. “I don’t WANT to clean my room!!” she yelled at me. I put her in time out on the couch, she is pleasant as a lark and could care less. Again I said, “We will not go outside unless you clean your room Virginia.” She again, cried the biggest alligator tears that would melt any man’s heart. So she sat in the floor of her room and played for the next hour.

I had to come up with another bribe…something she would want so badly that it would be impossible for her to not clean her room. Then I found it! The princess valentines she had picked out at Walmart the week before, along with the fruit roll-ups to go with them for her to give to her friends. “We will make valentine’s for your friends if you clean your room Virginia,” I told her. For a split second, I honestly believe she considered attempting to clean her room. After that second was over, she walked over to the crushed up Wheat Thins and started eating them. I then realized I should try a different approach. “Mommy will be sooooo proud of you if you just pick up the clothes and hangers that are on the floor. You can even put them in this really neat plastic crate for mommy to hang up later!” It worked! She did it! Mommy wins! Not really. There are still crushed crackers and a pile of toys on the floor. But hey, I’ll take a victory where I can with her.

I break down and end up picking up most of the toys myself. She watches and talks to me about Polly Pockets. I HATE Polly Pockets. They are impossible to clean up and keep together, not to mention that it’s me that is constantly putting the clothes on them because they are tough for little fingers to get the rubber outfits off and on. Why did Santa bring them to her for Christmas? Because she loves the Ariel one so much her plastic hair has fallen off and she often carries it around the house.

After a nutritious lunch of mac-n-cheese from a box, they make their valentine’s and end up eating most of the candy purchased to give to their friends. Starling had chosen Fun Dips. Here we go….Ginny Grace was determined to have her own Fun Dip. She chose blue. She walks over to me and asks me politely to open it for her. Little did I realize that she had actually opened the powder part herself, ripped the package half-way down to where the powder was spilling out, and handed it to me. I then had blue raspberry powder all over my pants, the couch and the rug. Oh…she only wanted me to open the stick side. Another mess in the living room. Luckily the area rug is dark blue. Vacuuming can happen later.

It’s only 2:00pm! I’m exhausted and my laundry is still waiting. But never fail, the afternoon is a time of peace. She wanted me to read her books, so I did. We cuddled and read about Barbie being a graceful ballerina. We listened to big sister read books to us and I smiled at how fast this sweet time is flying by. I laugh at my big pile of laundry and enjoy the hugs and kisses they give me.

It’s almost time for dad to come home. They’ve helped me make chili and we spend the rest of the time dancing in the living room.

It was a great day. She’s strong-willed and I still don’t know how to discipline her to make it work. Another day of trying for me, another day of living life to the fullest.