Ready or Not, Here I Am

Wow!

It finally happened.  I followed the groom's instructions and the next thing I knew - POW!  I had a gavel in my hand and lots of people looking at me.  I am told I looked pretty good last Saturday night.  But some people need to learn the difference between:

I didn't recognize you!  You look beautiful!, which leaves you wondering why they never mentioned that you looked like chopped liver before and whether the appropriate response is "Thank you" or "Sorry I was so ugly before,"

and

I didn't recognize you!  I've never seen you with your hair up! or  I didn't recognize you!  I don't think I've ever seen you with make up before!, which could be true and yet don't imply that you were coyote ugly (one look at you in bed with them and the man gnaws his arm off to get away) or worse yet, Gorgon ugly (one look from a man and he turns into a marble statue out of fright), up until now.

Of course, many people provided me with just a sweet and wonderful, You look gorgeous, which was very flattering and far more fun than another not so hot comment:

Wow!  You look great!  Why don't you do your hair and make up all the time?  I was very, very bad and I am afraid I told the truth (one of my great failings, I'm afraid).  I told this person that the reason was three hours in a beauty chair, but that someday, when I win the lottery and hire a French maid, I will be happy to always have my hair and makeup done before going out into the word around, say, noon each day.

Of course the other reason is that it takes a lot of time to get the fifty plus hairpins out of my hair and two shampoo and rinse cycles to melt the hair back down off my head after one of these affairs, but for Grand Installation it was worth it and I am told that the pictures came out great, so for special occasions, Beauty Before Comfort.

It was also very gratifying to hear many members say that they appreciated my Installation remarks.  I spent a long time figuring out what I wanted to say and even longer editing and polishing my comments until I could get the whole message out in just six and a half minutes.  Then we closed and got done and everyone appreciated being finished at a decent hour too.

So one week is not over and I have fifty-one to go.  My Worthy Grand Patron and I have already made some progress and we hope to make more as the weeks come along.  The beginning is supposed to be the slow time and someone told me that there was supposed to be a honeymoon period, but I guess I blinked and missed that because my in box has already had a half a dozen problems and issues in it.  A couple are actually already dealt with,  others are just starting - how fun is that?  NOT REALLY ANY actually.  But with every job the bitter comes with the sweet, leadership can be a lonely business and I can't say that I didn't know what I was getting into, not after ten years on Jurisprudence.  But the happiness of the progress  we are already making far outweighs a few issues, so damn the torpedos and full speed ahead.

This coming weekend, I get to start installing my girls as Worthy Matrons in their Chapters and I am also planning on attending a Rainbow reception for a local girl who is a Rainbow Grand Officer.  I asked if they were sure they wanted me there because there are protocol-type things that happen, now that I am actually Worthy Grand Matron and not just a Grand Officer, but the adult advisors assured me that it was good for the girls to get to do these things.  I guess I will find out if the girls agree.

Onward and upward!