I must confess...

Oh, my California roots keep coming back to bite me.  I never knew anybody who was in a pageant (and if I did, I am guessing they kept it a secret.) I am sure that if the subject came up, many a snide and obnoxious comments were made.  I remember my second year teaching in Alabama (way back in the 90s)...(wow, it felt really weird to type that), a couple of my seventh grade girls decided to enter a pageant and I carefully tread around the whole topic as I kindly tried to give them my "don't bring women down" speech.  It didn't work and they still did the pageant.

Fast forward ten years to our second time living in Alabama, this time with a strong-willed daughter whose friends wear big southern bows and heirloom dresses (and if you don't know what a heirloom dress, you probably aren't from around these parts) and all my women-power-don't-let-others-determine-your-self-esteem-we-are-so-much-more-than-our-hair mumbo-jumbo went right drown the drain. 

Kaci has been asking to do a pageant for months now.  I knew that we would be way over our head in many of the pageants around here so we chose to do the most laidback one around- Little Miss Christmas.  The funds went to support the local recreation center (do you like how I made it sound like we were doing it to support a good cause, but really it was to let Kaci wear a twirly dress?).  

I bought her the dress at TJ Maxx and shoes at Payless.  I attempted to curl and spray her hair (even though it looks like she just finished playing 18 holes of extreme golf).  We practiced walking the T-method (yes, there are technical terms for this kind of stuff and now I am in the know).  We rehearsed where the judges would be so that she would know where to direct her smile.  This pageant required no talent (although I did have a plan for it if needed.)

I didn't know what to expect from the other girls... or the pageant moms (talk about a way to bring out your own insecurity!). 

Once there, I could only giggle at the very kind director's over-insistence that this pageant was all for fun and that the scores judges are final (in other words, there must have been overzealous parents in years past who harangued judges when their own offspring didn't win the crown).  I could only smile wistfully at the moms with the personalized cosmetic cases, hairspray, and props.  I could only turn my head at the moms who were more into it than their daughters.

So, I confess that we did it, Kaci loved it, wants to do more, and I enjoyed doing something with her that she liked.  I guess I'll just bring more hairspray next time.

 

I don't know where she has learned her modeling moves.  I am so blaming ANTM marathons.

Here is Kaci during the "real thing."

And here is part of her cheering section!