Princess, Princess!

or My life as a parade waver

In Texas, the State Fair is a huge deal. School’s give their kids days off to go, vendors spend months planning the perfect fried food to enter in the cook-off and parades are every night. So, when I was asked to be in the opening day parade and a few parade of lights I was over the moon.

Full disclosure: I had never been in a parade by myself before. I marched in a few as a girl scout, but I never had the sitting in the top of the car, or on the float waving moment. For the Texas State Fair opening day parade we got there early to take pictures first. (via Miss Ducanville/Ellis County FB page)

When they assigned floats, the driver told me over and over again to hold on and brace my feet apart so I wouldn’t fall over. Then we got moving and I almost fell over because my legs weren’t braced right (and the people I was waving at noticed). So I learned my lesson. But other than that, it was really the most incredible experience. There is something so cool about waving at people and them waving back excitedly. And hearing people scream things like “YOU GO MCKINNEY!” “WE LOVE MISS MCKINNEY”. Little girls who start screaming with happiness when you wave to them. Hearing small voices yell “Princess, princess look at me!” It hadn’t really hit me until that moment, when I was on the float and heard a little girl tell her mom she wanted to be a princess just like me when she grew up that I really grasped how much these little girls look up to us.

By far the coolest part though was getting to walk through the fair grounds. There’s a Vietnam memorial that I had never been to. The MTO volunteer who arranged the parade appearance is a vet, so he brought us down to pay tribute to his comrades. It was one of those things where you don’t realize just how deeply it’s going to touch you until you get there. It’s definitely a different experience to see things from the soldiers perspective. Welcome home.

I also got to eat nachos with Texas shaped chips. Obviously the most fascinating thing ever. I was obsessed.

We signed a few autographs, rode a ride, I GOT TO MEET AN OWL (!!!!!!) then went home after finding out the second parade was rained out.

 

The parade of lights was different, because we weren’t going through downtown Dallas, we were just in the fair grounds. I was the very first person in the parade, riding around in a Corvette. E was there, so periodically throughout the route I’d hear “ANNNNNNNNNNA!” and see him laughing as I tried to keep smiling. If you’ve never smiled for an hour straight, just try it. Your mouth gets stuck for awhile in this half smile weird thing.

After these last few parades, I’m pretty much done with appearances and a has-been beauty queen. I’m not sure what I’m going to do with myself.