Social Climbing

I have been called many things in my time. Primarily red, and anything associated with red hair. A few names I have not been called include, but are not limited to patient, calm, messy, or socialite. The last one is just what I picture myself as one day. The definition of socialite is as follows:

A socialite is a person of social prominence who spends significant resources entertaining and being entertained but is not (at least in the early 20th century heyday of socialites) a professional entertainer. ...en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialite

Let's break it down. I have little social prominence and my "resources" are spent with and on my family. Although I do like to entertain and have been know to do my share of karaoke, I prefer to be entertained. The area where I currently live is not at all small but the locals like to refer to these parts as a big little town. We do not have six degrees of separation but about two. I married into an infamous family in this zip code, and most surrounding counties really. It's true. Daddy and I have moved ten times and there was a time on our lives, long before children, when it was a good idea for me to call prior to our arrival to a new county to verify no warrants were out there lurking in the darkness. I later learned to do this on departure as well, in case we ever moved back to that city. Now, of course, Daddy is a responsible citizen that pays parking tickets and drives the speed limit.

I digress, this is, after all about me. After moving back to this small town of about 150,000 I quickly learned you see the same faces in the social pages in our local magazines over and over again. Don't these people have anything else to do? My favorites are 417 Magazine and Signature Magazine. I made a playful "goal" with Daddy that one day, I too would be in the back of the magazines; wine glass in hand, rubbing elbows with our local "elite".

Years have passed and my goal was forgotten like a New Year's resolution to cut back on chocolate is forgotten come February 14th. However, Daddy and I have had a number of opportunities in the last couple of weeks to show up in either of my beloved local mags.

I started volunteering for CASA of Southwest Missouri when I moved back to 417 land. If you are not familiar with CASA and their mission please check them out. The CASA mission is "To recruit, train and support community volunteers who assist the court in protecting the best interests of abused and neglected children in Southwest Missouri." I was assigned my first case in March of 2007 with the goal of not only giving back to my community but having a positive influence on a child that may otherwise not have that opportunity. Many cases involve infants and toddlers that literally do not have a voice but my assigned case involved a fourteen year old that could speak her mind. It was great to see her involved and active in changing the outcome of her future. I wanted to be a positive influence on a child that did not have a good role model and provide that child a voice in the court room. However, what ended up happening was I got more out of it that she did. I met great people that are devoted to making futures better for people thy had not met until they are "assigned" to their case. These individuals included but are limited to other CASA volunteers, GAL, DFS, therapists and more. I saw people give of themselves unselfishly by opening their homes as foster parents. I am humbled to be in the presence of these people and feel like I was not even scratching the surface on what I could do.

So Daddy and I went to a CASA fundraiser this weekend. It was located in neighboring town of Branson Missouri. I describe Branson as Nashville on Vegas. Known for county music shows and lots of traffic, this is a great time of year to visit Branson. Branson is home to the Titanic Museum and CASA chose this as the location for the fundraiser. While touring the Titanic replica, we enjoyed a progressive dinner with drinks. As our group was headed up the fabulous staircase we were stopped for a photo! Yippee! My chance has arrived! The photographer was from 417, and with a small intimate crowd in attendance I think my chances of appearing on the back pages are good, I will keep you posted.

Daddy even got a chance to be in Signature magazine while we attended Diamond Night in honor of Boys and Girls Town of Missouri. Diamond Night is a great fundraiser that offers a silent auction from local jewelers and a chance to win a big piece from the big sponsor. My step mom is a big wig with BGTM so we attend this one ever year. Again, I have never seen so many people give of them self so willingly while asking for nothing in return. Well, other than any parent I have met.

That is it for my social climbing this week, back to the laundry and taking out the trash...shouldn't I have "people" that do this for me?