So you don’t have a tiara

If you know me personally, it is no secret that I think my granddaughters are the most beautiful, personable and confident little darlings on the planet. Two of my said darlings under four years of age participated in the Five Hills pageant on Saturday. We were ready! Dresses, socks, shoes, hair accessories—check. The oldest insisted she could “walk by myself” right up until practice on Friday afternoon. 
As can often go with toddlers, things went downhill rather quickly on Saturday. It started with the littlest one’s shoes. I should have known then, when our prospective Tiny Miss’s shoes would. Not. Stay. On. Her. Feet. Something which had never occurred prior, when trying them on. Picture me grabbing TP from the ladies’ room at Lea Ledger and stuffing said shoes. We tried hair clips. Everything we could think of. Nope. Cinderella, she was.
Then my daughter and I teamed up with both girls in the choir room backstage and things went even further south, when the oldest, almost four, had a meltdown of Vesuvial proportions when her mother and little sis went, shedding shoes again, into the hall to line up. I wondered who was this princess in a green dress, wailing on the floor? I’d never seen this creature before. I helplessly tried to assure her that mom would be back soon. Then picture the scenario in reverse, with a tiny princess wearing a sky-blue dress to match her eyes, on the floor, wailing when her older sis went to line up with mommy. Even though she walked across the stage in her lovely white lacy socks, she ended up with second runner-up. (Yay!) Princess in the green dress walked the stage with her mom, but it was clear she wasn’t quite “feelin’ it.” 
Afterward, I felt like I’d run a mile, which is saying a lot for my efforts. We were sweaty and they were tired and needing naps. We packed up and slithered home with princesses who didn’t want to change out of their gowns. No tiaras, yet two medals and one trophy. We did score two bags chock-full of goodies for family fun over the next year. Cheer! 
Then Saturday night it was time for the older girls and ladies to take their turns onstage. This is the pageant “bigtime,” when not only sparkling tiaras are on the line but many worthy causes. To me, the evening session is more than tiaras—it’s a chance for contestants to promote causes that are near to their hearts. 
Animals in shelters, Keep Copperas Cove Beautiful, City Park beautification, Operation Stand Down Central Texas, bullying prevention, volunteerism, lupus awareness, stiff person syndrome, fighting cancer, childhood literacy, the Boys & Girls Club, Pink Warrior Angels, Cove House and more were all mentioned Saturday evening. Only six contestants came away with the chance to represent their platforms. I’m sure the Central Texas area will hear a lot about the winners’ areas of service in the upcoming year.
But what about the ones who didn’t win a tiara? What about those areas of service? If you don’t have a tiara, what can you do? A tiara and a group of fellow volunteers can definitely help when trying to advance a cause.  
Yet, there is nothing that prevents anyone from stepping up on their own platform and promoting any of the causes. Any and all of the groups mentioned above welcome volunteers. Even if you’d never dream of walking the stage to win a tiara, you can still make a difference in your community. But take a cute from the pageant queens: Don’t be shy about it. Email us at news@coveleaderpress about your efforts. As for my little darling princesses, we’ll encourage them to be helpers in their own way.