Not a Pageant Mom

Last night was our local small town pageant that of course coincides with our small town weekend festival. Amidst all the cheering and clapping for the beautiful young ladies and the handsome young men was the sound of constant sighing.

Why?

Because pageants are not my thing.....and Rebecca really wishes they were.

We were there last night to cheer on her best friend Cecilee who was in the junior miss category. The same category that Rebecca was elligible for (a fact which I heard a few times). It really isn't that I am not fully supportive of my girls in their endeavors or pursuits, but I just have a problem with setting them up to value beauty over brains. Here are a few reasons I won't change my mind in the near future:

1. In the small town where I grew up the winner of the pageant was based solely on who sold the most county fair tickets. So basically it was a contest on whose dad had the most money or influence. So my sister and I were too disgusted to ever enter it although I know we were both asked a few times.

2. Rebecca is a very pretty girl I won't deny that, but as she is going through these formidable tween years; we are working hard at keeping her level headed and grounded. Adding a title to her resume will make her head expand to roughly the size of the grand canyon.

3. I really am busy enough without adding more weekend parades and festivals where she would have to be a float rider to my schedule.

4. Even though this particular pageant is based on interview, poise, and beauty (unlike my experience), I have a problem with having my child be judged based on that. What if she lost? Dealing with her tween angst and the fallout that would ensue would probably drive me insane.

We are so proud of her friend Cecilee winning the jr. Miss title, and I think last night was a good lesson in being a supportive friend and learning to watch and admire from the sidelines. You don't always have to get in the game.