Yep, I’m Somebody’s Mom!

Just got to the hotel for the Illinois junior high student council convention. Was riding the elevator up to my room with a bunch of giggling girls. I asked if they were here for the convention. They all said yes we are!! I said, “Awesome! I am your speaker tonight!” One girl scrunched up her nose and said “Really? You look like someone’s mom.” “Yeah, I’m that, too…and, tonight I’m gonna have some fun with y’all.” Dead silence.

Why can’t “somebody’s mom” be a fun speaker, too? Or, could that be a compliment in a weird sort of way? I’m an ordinary, everyday person who can be in an elevator at 2:00 in the afternoon and I’m also a speaker who will be on a stage in front of 1,200 students at 7:00 pm that night. “Somebody’s mom” can be just as sophisticated as what you imagine a professional to look like, and a professional can be as down to earth as “somebody’s mom.”

That night, we had a great time, and I left that stage feeling like a celebrity. We all have different aspects of who we are. Maybe every now and then we should pretend we are a celebrity and hold our heads up a little higher, throw our shoulders back and walk with just a little more style. And, as we are “stylin,” we can be on the lookout for the ones who need us, and be ready to reach out and help them, just like “somebody’s mom” would.