Operation Tiara

My high school friend S.R. wearing her new tiara!

Operation Tiara is an offshoot of my 2014 New Years Resolution to tell one friend per week how much they mean to me and how wonderful they are.  Operation Tiara is about giving tiaras to remarkable women who deserve to feel like Princesses every single day.

Where did this idea originate you ask?  My friend Amy W. has a gorgeous daughter, Alex, who wears tiaras every day.  Her tiaras are fairly low key and are more like rhinestone headbands but they are tiaras nonetheless.  I noticed that Alex is such a proud and confident girl and she doesn't care if she is the only one in the room wearing a tiara.  And that got me to thinking about the power of the tiara...

My best friend Stephanie bought me my first tiara and it was magical.  I wore it for days in and out of the house.  If you are reading this and you are thinking to yourself, "Wearing a tiara is magical? Liz is crazy." all I say say to you is that you have never put on a tiara and smiled at yourself in the mirror.  Do it and see how you feel.

When I wear a tiara I hold my head a little higher, sit up straighter, and make sure my hair looks terrific (everyone knows that good hair days are always the start of great days).  I feel confident and regal.  I have a really big tiara that I keep in my office and I wear it when I need inspiration or confidence when dealing with my clients.  

I wore a tiara on a week-long cruise last year (see earlier post) and you wouldn't believe how many women said they wanted a tiara too!

I have given almost all of my closest girlfriends who live in town tiaras and this year I will make sure all of my friends from near and far get one.  One thing that has been so fun is to reconnect with childhood friends on Facebook and, now that I have, I have found so many "new" girlfriends for whom I have a have a whole new appreciation now that we are adults. It will take awhile to get them all sent out but I have this year to do it.  So far it's been a smashing success.

Just this week I gave tiaras to 3 friends! 

One tiara and "Princess" designation went to a high school classmate of mine (S.R.) with whom I lost touch and reconnected on Facebook.  Turns out that she is really funny we have a good time posting comments on each other's pages.  She is a teacher, a mom, and she has taken such great care of herself that she literally looks exactly the same as she did in high school and she was gorgeous then.  Not that physical beauty is a necessary attribute of a Princess, but you have to admire someone who successfully fights off the hands of time. One thing that convinced me that she needs a tiara is the beautiful relationship she has with her husband. They are so cute together and I love seeing true love in action.  They are considerate, loving, and waited many years to find each other...don't you love a love story?

Another high school friend (D.L.C.) of mine is going through a tough time this year but she has handled it with more grace, strength, and dignity than anyone would believe possible. What she has gone through rivals virtually any story you ever heard from a guest on the Oprah show and is more like a Lifetime TV movie.  Lesser women would have turned to drugs or would be on the Jerry Springer show. But not this lady.  She has faith in God and has a lionesses protective instincts when it comes to her children - because of her determination, her kids will emerge from this tough period in their lives with minimal damage.  Her life has been beyond hard in the past year but the other day she was so grateful that she was able to help someone who had been in a car accident!  If she isn't a Princess I don't know who is.

The third recipient of Operation Tiara this week is an amazing woman (K.J.) who is suffering from muscular dystrophy.  For many years she has been a passionate advocate for animals and has personally rescued and fostered countless animals.  Our dog Kodiak was in her loving care before we adopted him.  And she doesn't just rescue the cute and sweet ones...she takes in some dogs who aren't as easy to love and finds them homes.  She is the patron saint of animals.  Her health has not been so great lately (she has been in the hospital a lot this year) and last week she lost her beloved pet cat.  She is having a pretty crappy year so the time seemed right to crown her Princess too.  She sent me a note that she "really needed that tiara" and that made my day.

The tiara I sent to D.L.C.

When D.L.C. received her tiara she texted me that she had "a huge smile on her face and was never taking it off!!!"  That made my whole day!

I have started making a list of friends who need tiaras and figuring out when to send them. I don't want to send them all at once or my fun will be over way too soon so I will try to space out the giving over the course of this year.   I hope this turns into a movement and that more women give tiaras to their friends....of course if that happens I will buy stock in a tiara manufacturer. Or maybe start my own venture.

I am having so much fun crowning new Princesses and telling my friends that I love them that I don't know what I will do next year to top this fun.  Is there anything better than making someone smile?