What in the world do pageants and motherhood have in common? Well, let me just tell you.
I grew up in the pageant world. Fake smiles. Fake hair. Fake eye lashes. Fake teeth. I mean aren't 6 and 7 year old kids expected to be toothless at some point? Not in the pageant world. Just stick a fake tooth in so that your child's smile can be and look perfect. Because aren't we all perfect? Of course not. Far from it! I was blown away at how much "fakeness" there was in young girls and as I grew older in the pageant world, I learned more tricks of the trade. Those abs, yeah, you can draw those on. Cleavage? You can draw that too! I know, crazy! You don't want to know what pageant girls put on their legs. Insane. You never know what's real or not. It really would blow you away.
Now don't get me wrong, it's not all fake and not everyone is fake. I've met some incredible people growing up in pageants and some I still communicate with today and they are as beautiful as ever. But it taught me a lot. I'm competitive. It's in my blood. I don't like to lose AT ALL. In anything. But if you've ever competed in the pageant world, then you've lost at some point. And when you lose at an early age, it will break you or make you. Well, it broke me. I told my parents I wasn't going back on stage and I wasn't ever going to compete again. Who was I kidding? That's when my thick skin formed. Well, between pageants and having two older brothers.
I learned that you will win some and you will lose some. I became confident in myself. Not what others could do but what I could do. I realized there would always be someone more talented. There would always be someone prettier. There would be girls who would blow me away in interview. But then there would be times that I would take home the talent award or the beauty award. There would even be days that I took home the crown. And that's where motherhood comes in.
Get on social media and you will begin to compare yourself to other moms. Wow, she's Betty Crocker. Man, she is room mom of the year. I bet her kids think she is the best mom in the world. Gosh, I'm really a terrible mom. Because not everything you see is real. Most people, including myself, post what they want you to see. I certainly don't post the picture of my child throwing a tantrum. I post the picture of him giving me a kiss. It doesn't mean it's "fake" but it's not necessarily reality.
As moms, we need to realize, there are going to be women who have it together better than we do. There will be those real life Pinterest moms who can do it all without an epic Pinterest fail. Perhaps you see those moms who are fit, always eating healthy, those who fit the "soccer mom" definition perfectly. Of course you have the moms that look like they stepped out of a magazine, even on their worst days - this would be my sister-in-love. Moms who are skinnier, prettier, smarter, everything but what you think you are as a mom. Moms who can plan a party like its nobody's business. You may not always win.
BUT then there are days that you do win the most beautiful because your little boy or your little girl looks up at you and says, "Mom, you are the prettiest in the whole wide world." Days you get the most talented award because your child was so excited you sent the best treats to school that day and all the other kids loved them. Then there are those extra special days, you win the crown! The days when those little eyes look up at you and say, "Mom, you're the best, I love you!" Oh, and then our tears fall just as they would if we were actually being crowned the pageant queen.
So you see, motherhood is similar to pageants. But, motherhood is not a competition to see who gets to take home the crown. Motherhood is learning to be the best that you can be just as pageants are in real life. Be the BEST YOU. There is no one else like you in the world so that makes you special. So, maybe you won't win a trophy today or take home the crown, but every day you have someone call you mom, you have a job to do and the reward is priceless!
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