In the spirit of tasting someone else's life, I reflect on my week in Vegas. Although we all looked glamorous and fabulous(even if you don't agree, for my sake LIE), each one of us tells a story. We have sad stories, bad stories, good stories and great stories. The stories we tell each other all stem from our time since Miss America and weave through the next fifteen years. Some people have gone on to be accomplished attorneys, heroic housewives, titans of industry, popular performers, television or news personalities, terrific teachers, stadium show makers, and even hysterical hobby farmers(ok, one). None of us has walked a gold paved road of happiness and ease and yet we've all become successful somethings. One of the evenings we spent an entire dinner talking about whether or not we fulfilled our description printed in the Miss America program book. I think all of us exceeded our dreams and aspirations and were on to our second and even third careers.
I arrived Tuesday morning and was picked up at the airport by a former student of mine when I taught at the performing arts high school. She is now happily married to the man of her dreams and had moved to Las Vegas two days prior to my arrival. Upon arriving at the resort I became reacquainted with my longtime friend, Miss Wisconsin, Nicole Locy Phillips. She is the creative mind behind an up and coming website that connects woman called Diva Connection. She looks exactly the same except smarter. She is sassy and has beautiful brown eyes that light up when she smiles. She spoke to me about her newest endeavor. She has decided to do one thing at a time. I laughed! Moms don't do one thing at a time, EVER. During the course of the week she showed me just how committed she was to her new endeavor. I always had her undivided attention. Everyone who spoke to her was the complete focus of her every cell. This sort of attention builds confidence and relationship in a way I never knew possible. I trusted her more and felt safe in her gaze. I knew that the words that left my mouth were being considered and understood and not merely heard. If I could give my husband, children, students, and peers this sort of attention it would build them up tremendously.
When Miss Minnesota, my other roommate, arrived we were ready to conquer the world. She arrived on the tail end of a heartbreaking loss and a year of renewal. She is tall, slender and lovely. She still wears a size "0" and can rock even her jammies. As we visited and shared I was able to witness her kind and gentle spirit. She is a natural caregiver. She focuses on the needs of those around before attending to her own needs. She was similar to a well who kept pouring fresh water in to the people around her while never being refreshed herself. Miss Wisconsin and I were able to remind her of her beauty, talent, and worth daily; filling her well so she could continue to pour out and overflow on others. As a doctor she is in a constant state of giving.
Although exhausting in Vegas, I was able to glean such valuable lessons from these two beautiful woman. They renewed my spirit and made me want to be more than I am. As woman we do not often praise each other yet I had the best confidence building team in my hotel for a week! I felt more beautiful, intelligent and energetic knowing I was in the company of these two fantastic women. They inspired, encouraged and helped equip me for a new set of adventures. Hopefully these adventures will include focusing on one thing at a time and pouring in to other people. I am forever thankful for my two beautiful roommates Miss Wisconsin and Miss Minnesota!(Day 51). Goodnight Friends and I hope I've encouraged you to be better in some way; even if only to be better at facebooking. HA!
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