04 March 2007

So Long, Nashville (Day Four)


Last night was the PPA awards banquet and just before we were seated, I caught something out of the corner of my eye … it was a BABY BUMP!

But it wasn’t mine.

Since I’m in awe of women who actually look preggers, I made Shelley introduce us. I was dying to know how far along the mommy-to-be was. Turns out, this rounded woman’s due date was one day before mine (what are the chances)! We chatted about being exhausted, our ability to slip into a decent pair of heels (at least for a few hours anyway) and being the only water-drinking ladies in a room full of wine and whiskey. She was too sweet (wish my pregnancy brain would allow me to recall her name, uugghh) and it was nice to mix and mingle with a like-minded chica, if only for a minute.

During the awards dinner (we had mushy steak, instead of the highly anticipated rubber chicken) I found myself seated at a table with ANOTHER pregnant woman … the final day of the conference and “we” (baby-bearing babes) were coming out of the woodworks, lol.

While finding a couple of other women who were sharing my woes (my feet are still swollen from all the traipsing around) was a treat, I have to say the highlight of the evening was that DallasChild took home a whopping 12 awards and Shelley and I had some great laughs along the way.

Now back in Big D (I just woke from a nice 3-hour nap … I’m not proud, lol), I’m beginning to unpack and reflect on my first business trip. While I learned a lot that I plan to take back to the office, the most important lessons weren’t the ones being doled out in hotel seminar rooms, they were the ones I learned from a fantastic mom I met along the way.

Thank you, Shelley, for sharing your parenting advice, your wisdom, your spirit and your friendship. Because of you I feel more prepared and more confident to step into the greatest role of my life: Mom.

~Tessa

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