Way to go , Melissa!!

The past couple of weeks, Melissa has been working on her campaign for 6th grade senator. When she first signed up, she wanted to run for president. She found out that there were 12 others running for president & I got really nervous for her. After another meeting, she found out that there were only 2 girls running for senator & 2 would be picked. She thought it through & realized her chances to win as senator would be much greater so she switched. The campaign began. She wrote an essay, put together 2 posters (their only way to campaign--things have definitely changed) & started working on her speech. Today was the big day. I have to admit, I was so nervous!! I couldn't sleep last night. I got to the school early today & waited as I watched 24 others give their speeches ahead of Melissa. She finally got up there & I couldn't have been prouder!! She presented herself so well, spoke confidently, hardly looked at her paper & just showed so much leadership. She got the crowd involved, adjusted her speech when needed (the crowd responded a little differently than anticipated one time) & kept her cool. I wanted to run out & give her a big hug, but knew that wouldn't have been helpful to her. She came up to me afterwards & gave me a hug & it calmed me down. = ) Now the wait would begin. They didn't announce the winner until at the end of the day so we had a long 5 1/2 hours to go. I called the school cause I wanted to know before Melissa got home to know what to expect. I was told she won & I felt such a huge relief!! Now I couldn't wait for her to get home & give her a big hug. She had such a big smile on her face. She is very excited about how it all turned out. She had people telling her all day that they voted for her & they hoped she won. It can really boost your ego to have so many people respond that way to you.
I was so impressed with Melissa. She enjoys being a leader & is good at it. She stayed committed even though there were so many people running for different offices. She worked hard & I was seeing a side of her that I don't see too often. I love seeing my children work hard for something, put their all into it & of course, succeed. There will be times that success may not be the final outcome, but for the time being, we will enjoy this one!!