Dreams Really Do Go Further Than We First Imagine PART TWO
Last week I wrote about winning the Ms. Colorado Senior America state crown and taking the stage — and then, to my amazement, the dream grew wings and traveled farther. This is the story of stepping onto the national Ms. Senior America pageant stage and discovering what winning truly means.
There is something breathtaking about stepping onto a stage that is bigger than the one you first dreamed of. The lights are brighter, the room is larger, the energy hums in a new way — and still, the heart inside your chest is the same heart that once whispered, “Maybe… just maybe.”
After the Ms. Colorado Senior America pageant, another dream began to stretch its wings. Not in a loud way. Not asking for attention. The dream waited, as dreams tend to do, until one day I realized I was packing many suitcases — including one large crate — grabbing Sir Vinnie the Great’s harness handle, and heading to compete in the national Ms. Senior America pageant in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
That is how dreams work. First, they invite you to stand up. Then they invite you to stand taller.
The national pageant felt like stepping into a river of elegance, humor, heart, poise, false eyelashes, hairspray, rhinestones, hope, and stories — so many stories. Thirty-four women from every corner of the country, each carrying decades of living, loving, losing, laughing, and beginning again.
Backstage was a symphony of laughter and rustling gowns, of nerves and sisterhood woven together. The logistics looked like suitcases, schedules, rehearsals, and stage directions, and the deeper truth felt like purpose. My heart overflowed with gratitude for those who walked beside me — Michelle Rhon, Sandy, LaDawn, my pageant sisters, friends, Lions, and especially Cheryl, my sister, and Ann, my friend, who traveled to cheer me on in this once-in-a-lifetime experience.
There were quiet moments too. Sitting in my room, reviewing words by touch. Breathing. Listening to my own heart. Talking with God about inner strength. Smiling at the thought of the people cheering from home. Feeling Sir Vinnie curled around my feet like love that never leaves.
Then the stage lights rose.
Standing there, something settled inside me. Not nerves, not fear — recognition. I belonged here. Not because everything in my life had been smooth or picture-perfect, and because every step, including the hard ones, had brought me to that exact moment in time.
When the results were announced, I heard that I had placed fourth in the nation, ahead of twenty-nine remarkable women. There was no physical crown placed on my head that night, and my heart still felt crowned just the same. I whispered, “Sweet. Thank you. Yes.” Not because of a number or ranking, but because the journey had already filled my spirit past the brim.
The crown is beautiful, and recognition is lovely. Yet the deeper crown rests somewhere inside — the place where self-doubt once lived and now confidence sings.
When I stepped into the national spotlight, I didn’t just walk out. I arrived. I brought my music, my resolve, my humor, my blindness, my resilience, my sparkle, and my story — all of it. I didn’t need to hide anything to be worthy of that space.
Dreams don’t always end where we think they will. Often, they expand. They keep unfolding like wings we didn’t know we had until the wind finds them. One pageant led to another. One stage led to a bigger one. One yes opened the door to a brighter sky.
If you’re wondering whether your dream is too big, let me offer this: it may be too big for your plans, and it is never too big for your life.
Say yes.
Show up.
Let the next horizon surprise you.
Dreams really do go further than we first imagine — and you never know what stage, what adventure, or what new sky is already waiting for you to arrive. And while you’re dreaming, you will certainly change the way you see and change the way you live.
Such a beautifully written bunch of paragraphs about what it is like to win the pageant or place fourth in the nation !!! I remember so well being with you here in Colorado with you at this time…. How exciting and glorious it was. I am no so
Glad I had been able to share some of that experience with you… i just had my knee replacement of an older knee … doing really well in just 5 days … rehab is coming in am hour or so and I just took My first shower since the surgery on Wednesday afternoon … more later