Crowning Moments
In the past year, I have become a pageant
junkie. I watch every pageant I can;
from local competitions to getting to see Miss America crowned in person. I love making my guess as to who is going to
walk away with the crown. Being on the audience
side of the pageant the crowning is easy.
Sure, I have my favorite I’m rooting for, but whatever the results end
up being, as an audience member I get to move on after the pageant,
entertained, Yes, but not changed.
I have watched enough women get their crowns this
year, around 30, (told you I was a junkie) to know the drill. At that moment
you walk forward, smile, wave, cry a little;
I should have been able to play the part. No matter how many pageants I
have watched though, nothing prepares you for being on the participant
side.
At the end of the night, the competition part of
the evening is over. All of the
participants have found their final spots of the stage. It should be time to relax. Ha! Now is when
the real stress begins, because we have to stand there and …wait. Patience is one of the virtues I have to work
on a bit more than others.
At the ND International pageants, the Mrs. Awards
are last so, as I stand on the stage I am watching the Teen and Miss crownings first. They are all so beautiful,
and while I have made deeper connections with some of them, I am rooting for
each of them. I want so badly for each
of these young women to reach their dreams; to have the crown I can already see
on their heads. Maybe it is because I am
a mom, and I have daughters who can hardly wait to follow their own pageant
dreams, but I felt the crush of loss and the thrill of victory with each of
them.
If any of the candidates from the 2014 pageant are
reading this, please run again. You can
do it. You are beautiful. Go claim the
crown I already see.
Finally, the Mrs. Contestants step forward. In my mind it is a blur. I remember wanting to close my eyes and hold
my breath as the names are read. In my
head was advice given to me from Shelle Moran, Mrs. ND International,
2011. She said that the real winner is
seen in how they lose. I wanted to be genuinely happy for whoever walked away
with the crown that night. Each one of
us deserved it.
While the name of Mrs. North Dakota International
was read, I was telling myself to open my eyes. I had so much to concentrate
on. Breathe, breathe, breathe. During
this very public moment, my head was having a very busy, private
conversation. When my name was called,
it took me a moment to remember what to do.
So much for having the crowning moment figured out. I am
glad I even managed to step forward and bend down. I am thankful everyone else
remembered what to do and just pushed me where I needed to go, even while I was
in my daze.
My true crown is my husband; I am so thankful that
he is the one who got to place my sparkly crown on my head. As a married women and a mother, my crowning
moment changed not my life for the next year, but my husband’s and children’s
too. I am proud to get to wear the Mrs.
North Dakota International crown this year, and I love my family for always
seeing a crown on my head, even before it was there.
So there you have it… the tale of a pageant junkie
who had to talk herself through her own coronation. I am so grateful for the beautiful queens I
get to walk through this year with.
Together we are on a grand adventure and I’ll be sure to keep you
informed!
Blessings
Janelle Steinberg, Mrs. North Dakota International
2014
