As I have by now explained to everyone (apologies for the repetition), Lauren climbed into the car after school one day last month with a pageant flyer clutched firmly in her hand. She handed me the flyer and asked if she could be in a local pageant that was to be held in about a month. We talked about it, i.e., how pageants work; expenses; and most importantly, the subjective nature of judging beauty. After discussing all of that, she was sure she wanted to be a participant. When offered the same opportunity, Grace was equally sure she did not want to participate, but readily agreed to be Lauren's biggest cheerleader. We green lit Operation Pageant on one condition: That she would agree to have fun and have no expectations of winning (although we certainly thought she should, even retroactive to all pageants throughout history, although we are definitely biased).
With the application submitted and fees paid, we moved forward with dress shopping and planning hair and make up. Although I am not a pageant person at all, I have spent years studying the red carpet of many award shows, and those skills finally had a purpose. For her part, Lauren was COMPLETELY in her element, gravitating toward rhinestones, sequins and ornamentation as if they were oxygen.
On dress shopping Saturday, my mom happened to be visiting and helped Lauren with her selection. Lauren's eyes were sparkly at the shop, and she kept asking, "Mom, did you know this store was here?" If so, how dare I keep it from her. "I have been by here so many times and never knew," she continued. Once the dress was chosen, we were discussing lunch plans, and Lauren casually mentioned, "I feel like Ruth's Chris today."
We had to bring her back down to earth, and eating lunch at O'Charley's (our ultimate destination) did exactly that.
The weeks passed quickly, and we found ourselves at the pageant practice. Lauren was nervous, but quickly got into the swing of things. Having a couple of friends in the pageant helped to make the event fun. Again, my mom came over for pageant weekend, and we were also celebrating my mom's birthday as well. We had cake after the rehearsal, and the next day we went out for a nice lunch.
Later that night, Lauren wore the "dress of [her] dreams" and had a blast. Afterward, she said she was ready to do it again.
As an important aside, Grace won "best sister" of the night award for being Lauren's biggest supporter. When it was time for Lauren to go on stage, Grace was shaking and so nervous for her. However, at the same time she had tremendous confidence in Lauren, saying, "I just know she's going to win!" Although she didn't this time, she looked beautiful and definitely had fun.
No comments:
Post a Comment