Florida princess

My little A has done it again. First in her age group in a pageant.

Yes, my baby is a pageant queen.

As a result of being in pageants, she's totally comfortable in adult social situations. She can get on the stage and strut her stuff, chat with the judges, model her outfits, and dazzle the judges with her talent. It doesn't hurt that she's gorgeous.

But these last two pageants are a different sort. They're more centered on the girls' conversational abilities, their ease in social settings. These pageants emphasize community service (no, not that kind); the girls will go to nursing homes, children's hospitals, that kind of thing. But for A, the best part is being in parades.

Especially a parade at Walt Disney World! Lunch with the governor and an invitation to the new governor's inauguration and ball is pretty cool, but come on, Disney World! She lives just a few minutes from WDW, gets to visit free since her mommy works there, but being in a parade in WDW is just the best thing.

I would have crawled under a table and refused to come out if I'd been told I was going to be in a parade when I was A's age. There's no way I would have stood on a stage and maintained eye contact with a bunch of grownups.

All this attention, practically her whole life, has not caused A to be vain or aloof. She's still just a little girl who likes to play dress-up with other girls. The prize packages that come with the titles are pretty exciting, but A likes the sashes and crowns--and toys--that are part of the rewards.

Her mommy makes most of her clothing for the pageants. Big money is spent on pageant clothes for these little girls; you wouldn't believe me if I told you how much just a swimsuit can cost. But my daughter, J, makes them herself, and they're often held together with safety pins and hot glue. If J wanted to, she could do a big business in making pageant clothing.