During my first couple of months as Mrs. Colorado, I was invited to attend Redstone Elementary.  I love this little school in Highlands Ranch partly because my children attend there but more importantly because of the wonderful teachers that fill the classrooms.  They have truly given my children the gift of a great education and love for learning. 

I was visiting the school as Mrs. Colorado and also to read my very own children’s book Be Your Own Dream Catcher.  At first, I was only going to visit my son’s kindergarten classroom thinking that my fourth grader, Hunter, would be too embarrassed.  Hunter caught wind of this and said, “Mom, come on, you’re not coming to my classroom?”  Like any mom, I jumped on the opportunity and said, “Of course I will, I just thought you’d be too  embarrassed.”  Oh, was I wrong. 

 I started my adventure in my son Dane’s kindergarten classroom.  The children were so excited to see me and I was incredibly nervous.  Wearing my sash, I sat down in the front of the classroom and displayed my crown on a table next to me.  A bunch of little girls ran over right away and one yelled, “Oh put it on!” pointing to the crown.  I laughed and quickly placed it on my head.  We took photos and then I let them try on both the sash and crown. As a mother of two boys, I had SO much fun helping them play dress up!  The teacher eventually hushed the children and I began talking about dreams.  I shared my dream of becoming a mom and also Mrs. Colorado.  I talked about how you have to work hard and have a plan make your dreams become a reality.  After reading the book, I asked if any of them had dreams. They all raised their hands at once, chopping at the bit to scream out and share their dream.  One little boy said, “I want to build a house made out of Jell-O!”  Another little girl said, “I want to be a princess just like you!”  A third little boy jumped up and yelled, “I have nightmares!”  They were so adorable, I had never laughed so hard in my entire life.   

The fourth grade classroom was hilarious too.  Even the boys wanted to try on my crown and of course thought it was hilarious to act silly wearing it.  After reading my book that’s essentially about making your dreams a reality, I asked the children to share their dreams and how they thought they would achieve them.  One little girl said, “I want practice singing every day and then enter America’s Got Talent.  If I do that, I know I’m going to win!” “Another little boy shared that he was going to study hard and become a physician.   I loved hearing the determination and ambition at such a young age.  After all, this is what achieving any goal is about- preparation, determination, and drive! 

At the end of my visit with the fourth grade class the teacher came up to me and said, “With budget cuts and pressure to have score high on tests we don’t make enough time to expose our children to this type of motivation.  This is the stuff that truly matters, thank you for getting them to think about their dreams.”  As Mrs. Colorado 2012, dreams matter to me.  I knew at this moment, I was doing a job that made a difference, sharing the power of a dream.