A lesson in simplicity and Emily's weekend.

As I sat down to write tonight I tried to form all the words I wanted to put in my blog. I wanted to write about two subjects that tie together. First will be Emily's pageant and then my quest to get home to Jude.

I blogged the other day of how Emily mustered the courage to try Miss Tarrant teen only two weeks after Miss Dallas Teen. Some people see pageants as shallow, but if you knew all the work these girls put into this "sport" you wouldn't ever think that again. The other night we had some of Emily's friends over and they wanted me to ask them practice pageant questions. So these little boys got in their "pageant stance" and I asked them about world topics. Finally one of them looked at me and said, "wow, you have to be smart to do this". I giggled. So Emily woke up feeling very ill on Saturday morning and I was not happy with her. Granted she could have been worn down from the week of hospital visits with Jude, but she also didn't take responsibility and go to bed on time. We had a discussion about how responsibilities and commitments come before friends and texting. I asked her if the boy she likes would be up so late the night before a big football game. She said he wouldn't have been and said she really wanted to do this pageant and was going to suck it up and get herself together. I told her that in life there are many times we have to be at work, class, or a big event and if we don't prepare we have to accept the consequences. She agreed and she made the decision to walk into the performing arts center and give it her very best shot and boy did she! She looked gorgeous in swimsuit preview. This is where the judges have their first look at the contestants. Then she went to interview and she texted me that she thought it went very well too (no I can't be there...it's all up to Emily). So the primary show was at 7pm and all the girls performed in their swimsuits and then evenging gown. Then they announced the top three finalists. Emily was the last finalist called and we were so excited. Then she had an on stage question and I am sure my heart was beating as fast as hers was. They asked her "Who do you think is a good role model today?". I saw Emily's mouth turn into a smile and I knew she already had the answer in her head. She replied "Dr Rice...Condolezza Rice. I got to meet her when I flew to Washington DC for my charity and I found her to be a very inspirational lady and leader. Also she was an expert pianist at the age of 3 which I think is amazing". It was something like that and I was impressed. Even Mike leaned over and said "Well she knocked that out of the ballpark". After the the on stage answers were calculated they called the finalists back to the stage. They called the second runner up leaving Emily and another very beautiful girl. I saw Emily reach for the girls hands and they both waited to hear the announcement. They called the first runner up and you could see the answer of who won on Emily's face in the picture.

At that moment all the practice and work faded into excitement. It didn't matter how big or small the pageant was it was just her moment and she was thrilled.

So in celebration style we took Emily out to eat at Saltgrass...she was STARVING. She wore her banner and her crown into the restaurant. Mike asked, "Emily this is the first crown and banner I have seen you wear and keep on.......why?". She replied, "It just means a lot to me. This is hard work and I am just proud of it." Sometimes parents that are involved with children in pageants lose track of what's important. They begin to think that their child always deserves a title or a crown when in fact it's the judges decision. The USA side of pageantry is just as expensive and just as time consuming, but it teaches you to truly appreciate a very beautiful bouquet of pink winning roses and to be very very grateful for them! I sometimes think a lesson in being grateful for simplicity is a lesson everyone should have to learn.

I didn't get to see Jude much yesterday because I was taking care of Emily's needs at Miss Teen. I kept picturing his little face with his bright eyes. For some reason I kept thinking about him. I came home twice and gave him kisses, but I had to run back out again. He was already asleep when we got home. Today I had my nephews dedication, but after that I really wanted to see Jude. Mike had family in town, but I just wanted to sit in my house and do nothing. I grabbed Jude and we snuggled into the couch to watch a few shows. It's simple with Jude. We don't have big ambitions it's just all the tiny moments that are perfect... just like the simple pink roses!