Last year as I finished my pageant in West Virginia as Mrs. Southern States International, I said to my husband this poster-size picture that was given to me will be a gift for my dad because he always called me his little princess. I felt like Cinderella in this gown and I knew that he would be proud of the accomplishments that I had made.
We came home that week from the pageant in West Virginia ( Mrs. International) and visited with my dad. I said to him when I get back from our family beach vacation, I have a special gift for you. Marcus, my son and I went to the beach for a much-needed vacation and time off to rest after a busy 2 weeks of traveling for the pageant and work. We came back from the beach on 8/3/19. I had plans to go and see my dad that day, but our little one had a stomach bug and was not feeling well so I called my mom and said I will be by tomorrow. On 8/4/19, my mom called me frantically that 911 was at the house because Dad had stopped breathing. My heart sank. My mom said that all week long my dad kept asking when I was coming home. On 8/3/19 he was excited because he knew that I was coming home. My poor dad held out I guess as long as he could. He must have known that he was not feeling well and did not share it with anyone. He passed away on 8/4/19. After that, I lost my interest in pageantry and many other things. I still had to fulfill my title for Mrs. Southern States International but in my heart, I was hurting because my biggest cheerleader was gone.
As the weeks went by I started looking at pictures of my Dad from when he was growing up and from the army where he served. It occurred to me that I was going to honor my dad and represent his birthplace of Puerto Rico. I lived there for about two years as a baby. I wanted to connect with a large system that would allow me the ability to represent Puerto Rico and that was the Ms. World Pageant System. But I had to interview first in order to be accepted as a contestant due to the number of women that want to be a part of a large system. When I interviewed with the director Nancy, I was not sure what would happen, but I gave it my best shot. Yes! I was accepted to represent Puerto Rico!! I was so happy.
In doing my research, according to the March of Dimes, in Puerto Rico, the preterm birth rate is 11.9% a report card grade of F which is higher than the national average of 10% grade letter C. In one city called Caguas which is about 20 miles from San Juan, the capital of Puerto Rico, the premature birth rate is 15.8%. “Dr. Antonio Ortiz University Pediatric Hospital in San Juan is the only one in the country that offers level-four services to local patients and across the rest of the Caribbean islands. In addition, the hospital provides surgery and neurosurgery services, as well as intensive care for premature patients with a delicate clinical panel. “
As Ms. Puerto Rico World, my goal is to reach the Hispanic Community and provide support to parents of premature babies not only in Puerto Rico but right here in central Florida and any other location in need. In Florida, the premature birth rate amongst the Hispanic community is 9.1%. The overall premature birth rate in Florida is 10.3%. So when you ask me why I am passionate about supporting parents of premature babies and teaching preventative healthcare to avoid premature birth it is no surprise that the response is, look at the statistics and that will tell you the story.
If you are a business, parent of a premature baby, pregnant with a baby, thinking of getting pregnant, or a healthcare professional, take a moment to read about me Rosie Moore Ms. Puerto Rico World and let’s unite to educate and support families to avoid premature birth. If premature birth is unavoidable, let’s support these families through The Gift of Life Charity www.thegiftoflife27.org.
Do you ever wake and feel like your whole day is going to be great and then your entire morning falls apart? Sometimes we make plans for what we think our life should be like but then life throws a curveball. I travel locally for work in Gainesville, Brevard, Marion, Tampa, and Orlando region. I used to hate traveling and would never take jobs requiring travel, but about two years ago I took the plunge to work for myself. I am a nurse consultant and I manage clients who need medical attention after suffering injuries and clients who are homebound. I love what I do now as I can help clients get what they need.
So circling back to my perfectly laid out day that didn’t happen, I was not at peace with the world. All it takes is one rude comment, one complication, or really anything outside of our perfect plan to make our mood change. For me it was just that and as I drove in my car to see clients, I started to listen to my favorite Christian radio station z88.3 and the disc jockey shared the following verse “charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. ” Proverbs 31:30. This very verse is what is on my pageant business cards. Why I chose this verse is because as a pageant queen our exteriors can be all glammed up but our interior can be broken and we are just putting on a show to save face. So to me, this verse is a daily reminder that my job is to serve the Lord daily and not get hung up on how imperfect my day started. When I heard it on the radio today it spoke to my heart and reminded me that I need to pray.
As I drove to Melbourne today admiring the beauty of nature, I meditated on Proverbs 31:30 and prayed for forgiveness of ever doubting that God always steers us to His plan. Here is my view today as I wait on a client. I can feel the warm spring breeze gently rustling the leaves on the trees, the sun shining, and the absolute silence in this parking lot of a medical plaza. Not one person is seen walking here, no through traffic of cars; just silence. I think it was for sure a divine appointment for a reflection of my soul.
Ms. Lara Spencer Good Morning America Laughs at Prince George
When I was in grammar school I was the only dark-skinned Latina in my Catholic grammar school. My parents worked hard to provide their only daughter with the best education they could. But I didn’t fit in. I had two friends in grammar school that I played with; they were both Cuban but light-skinned, blonde and brunette. Whenever our classmates saw us they called us the black and white tv. “Why tv”? I’m not sure. But it broke all three of our hearts. Thankfully this did not carry through high school or college; I was glad to leave this stigma behind. I managed to graduate college and work in the real world.
In a high-risk hospital, I encountered a professional stigma, nurses against aides and techs. I wanted to do a good job and help my patients. I worked with everyone, but yet, the nurses said, “you are one of us, you should not socialize at lunch/dinner with the techs or aides.” The techs/aides would say “you are a nurse but you are Latina and you need to be with your people and the African American staff.” As for the doctors, well, they were in their own world-but I got along with them, they were too busy for stigmas.
I quickly learned life’s lessons in the business world. I took on jobs where women were in power struggles: some of the older women had no respect for younger women and vise Versa. The level of your position made a difference as to who you socialized with. People forgot we were there to take care of the sick.
And then it happened, I was thrown into the world of Pageantry. What me? I’m the shorts and flip flops girl!
I became a mom of a preemie, gained 50 lbs. due to the stress of a boss who said she hated people, thought there was something wrong with my learning ability, had no respect for people, and thought reading books was a waste of time let alone writing one. I cried daily at my desk as a result of the bullying and stress this woman caused me. Until one day my doctor said “You need to lose weight, lower your blood pressure and change your eating habits or you may find yourself in an early grave. This started a healthy journey for me. I had to live for my son, my husband but most importantly, me. I had to love myself because God loved me and He had a plan for my life.
Most of my close friends knew I was never a public speaker nor did I desire to share my testimony publicly. I was actually very shy. I used to sing as a child and through my teens until one day someone said to me, “you look silly singing in the church choir.” I allowed someone’s criticism to ruin my privilege to serve the Lord through worship. I hid behind dance because I could express myself and not use my voice to speak to others about Jesus and what He did in my life.
He took control of my life. I went through trial after trial until one day He inspired me to write my testimony in my very first book, titled A Story of Faith. I thought that was sufficient, but it wasn’t. He continued to give me test after test and each one became a testimony. He gave me divine appointments to speak to women who were going through difficult situations. I started to seek the Lord’s guidance, asking Him to fill my mouth with the right words to empower young and older women.
I thought to myself never will I lose 50 lbs! But through eating properly, training with a trainer, and God’s motivation, someone noticed. An acquaintance said, “You know if you get involved in a pageant you can reach a diverse audience that will learn about your charity and help you spread the word about the Gift of Life.” I thought, “No one cares about pageants” (I certainly didn’t) until I tested out the theory.
I emailed a hotel the year prior to becoming a pageant queen asking for a donation to the Gift of Life and received a reply, “we don’t have any donations at this time, but try again next year”. So the next year I sent an email, copying the same email, but signing my name as Mrs. Windermere. This was the start of a shift in favor of people. This time around, I not only received approval for a donation, but the donation was more than I expected; a weekend getaway package to auction off at our Gala. The pageantry gave me (“just Rosie Moore”) celebrity status almost overnight.
My first ever competition was an eye-opener. I felt alone amongst women who were beautiful, wealthy and eager to push any competitor out of their way. I once again experienced exclusion because of my skin color and heritage as a Latina. I was done with pageantry, one time was enough for me.
Someone
in the audience noticed me at the pageant with all the bad experience. She saw something beyond my heritage; she saw
that I had a platform plus a genuine love of people. She convinced me to try again so I prepared
for a year and qualified to be Mrs. Windermere International.
This time things were different. My peers voted me Mrs. Congeniality and I received the Community Service Award. The following year, I went on to represent Mrs. Michigan International of which I had the opportunity to not only crown my successor but to share my testimony regarding the Gift of Life.
Today, I am the reigning “Mrs. Southern States International I have the ability to share my testimony, the Gift of Life and my faith in Jesus! What I learned is that there is only one winner in the eyes of man. But, in the eyes of God, we are all winners.
It’s easy for us to fall into the same treatment we receive from others and although it hurts and we want to hurt others with the same measure, we must resist hurting others with criticism because of our own wounds. We will have a great reward as long as we believe God has us in His hands.
This is why it pains me to hear on national television a grow woman Good Morning America” host Lara Spencer, bullying a 6-year-old boy and eliciting laughter from the audience and co-hosts because he is taking ballet. What is so funny about that? Would she have had the same sarcastic remark had it been a little girl? Prince George will be able to make that decision as an adult for himself one day when he decides what his career path should be. As a dancer who has taken ballet and danced in ballet productions, I know the importance of this being the foundation for any style of dance. I encourage Lara Spencer to google famous ballet dancers and what they have brought to the world of entertainment, Mikhail Baryshnikov is one that comes to mind. Ballet is the foundation of any style of dance, a dancer is recognized by his or her training in ballet because the way that they carry their posture stands out. Football players take ballet not only to help them be flexible in their sport but ballet improves their focus by helping them concentrate on precise movements needed in football. Ballet has been proven to boost the concentration, improve memory, and helps people to understand music and rhythm which ultimately can improve body awareness and physical control. If you have a tendency to be clumsy, ballet training can help improve that. Not everyone who takes ballet or any style of dance will become a world-famous dancer, but the opportunity to allow someone to express themselves through dance does wonder. That is why in a major study it has been proven that when you stimulate your mind by dancing, it can increase cognitive ability, therefore, decreasing the likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s or dementia.
So to Ms. Lara Spencer of Good Morning America, choose your words wisely the next time that you are sharing news or a story because your words are a double edge sword that can be hurtful to someone who is listening. I used to like watching Good Morning America and hearing the stories that were shared, but now I am appalled that Good Morning America would allow this type of bullying of a child to take place on national television.
Today schools across America celebrate Read Across America in honor of Dr. Seuss’ 115th Birthday. It is a day where children all over the country celebrate their love of reading and learning. Rosie Moore, Mrs. Michigan International had the opportunity to visit with 4 classes and share 2 of her favorite stories, A Day in a Puppy’s Life and The Magic Snowflake
Sunset Park students in Ms. Johnson’s K5, Mrs. Pagan’s 2nd grade, Mrs. Hooker’s Class, and Mrs. Carnavoli’s K5 class enjoyed their stories and had the opportunity to ask questions about who the illustrators were for the books, is there a job for someone to read the books first before they are published, how did Mrs.Michigan get to be a reigning queen, and many more fun-filled questions.
Sunset Park’s Principal Jay Gangwisch and Vice Principal Mr. Andrew Connell were very involved in making sure that their students all had a great time with their guest readers today.
Mayor Gary Bruhn of Windermere was also a guest reader at Sunset Park Elementary today!
But of course, the day would not have been complete and possible without the coordination of Mrs. Robin Krause.
From the words of Dr. Seuss himself:
“Today you are you! That is truer than true! There is no one alive who is you-er than you!
Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.
Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”
This is going to be a long blog, not my typical type, but I wanted to share this with you, my readers because sometimes we hold on to things and realize years later, we did not need to.
There are times when people cross our paths and deliberately hurt us in such a way that you never want to remember that moment. Six years ago I worked for a large employer that I thought was going to be the place I would retire from in my old age; until I encountered a woman who was my boss, we will call her Madame G. She was a very self-centered person that had no shame in telling a person what she thought about them. She made it known that she did not like people or children and often joked that she was lucky she liked her own children but refused to acknowledge that she even had grandkids. Her grandkids were not allowed to call her grandma, she had a special name for them to call her, it was Gma. She raved about her ability to be the best in the industry. Wow! There was no room for questions and answers, the response as a new manager there that I received was read your policy and procedure book ( this book of many was over 300 plus pages long). This type of job was new to me as far as state laws were concerned and some training would have been appreciated, but the management portion of my job was not new to me.
I had a team of about 15 nurses and social workers. The team was great, they were willing to work hard and help each other. My team was very multicultural consistent of Spanish, Haitian, Trinidad, African American, and White, but I loved the diversity because no other team had that. My management style is that of a transformational leader which is someone who seeks to motivate and inspire others by influencing versus directing others. My boss was a transactional leader which is someone that focuses on supervision, organization, and performance. They promote compliance by rewards and punishments. She was feared by many on her team. I realized this on day one of being with her, but with a little boy that had medical needs, I knew I could not afford to leave this high paying job with benefits. As the months went by this leader brought me to tears daily at my desk ( I worked from home primarily and in the field with my staff).
On one instance, two months after starting work there, I was to meet her at the office so that the management could go out to lunch after that for the Christmas season. Madame G started to ask me why I was not caught up on all the reports that the other managers who had been there longer than 5 years had completed. I advised her that I had questions on the reports as there were many due at all different times of the months, her response to me was, “is there something wrong with your learning ability?” I felt bullied at that very moment thinking, did my boss just call me stupid? I held back my tears and anger long enough to reply no, I just had a question, but I will figure it out. We left for our lunch with the other teammates. At lunch she presented us with a gift that she felt fit our individual personalities. My gift was a black velvet Journal called Bright Ideas. I thought it was a nice gift since I love to write. I thanked her and said this will come in handy when I am out and I think of a good idea to write for a new book or blog. Her response to that was, “I don’t read books, I read the policy and procedure every night and that way I memorize it, anything else there is no point in reading. ” I found this to be strange but moved on.
The following month I had to go out to do visits with one of my staff, during that time, I went to a nursing home and met some of her patients. While there I picked up a bacteria from a patient. I was deathly ill, to the point that I could not even sit at my desk to work. I went to the local Centra Care and they thought I had a passing cold, and gave me medicine to take and instead of getting better, I developed fever, chills, pain, weakness, and became dehydrated. My husband in fear took me there again, they tested me for the flu but found out instead I had picked up a rare bacteria. They asked where I had been and as I explained that I was at the nursing home, they realized it was a nursing home borne bacteria. I was quarantined contagious, my then toddler son had to be sent to my mother’s house and anything I ate with or drank from had to be disposable. My husband emailed Madam G because I could not sit up at the desk long enough to write it. The Dr. had excused me from work for an entire week, due to being contagious for a week or the alternative would have been a hospitalization. I said I would comply and rest. Madame G wrote back stating that I needed to go to work since I worked from home and that my work was going to be backed up as no one was going to do it for me. I had to go back to Centra Care to get a note so that I could fax it to Madame G excusing me from working at home as well. Eventually, I did get better and was definitely careful to visit nonsick patients when I did field visits with my staff in order to protect my fragile medical child that could not afford to get sick. This posed problems with Madame G because she said that was why she did not like kids because they were always sick. Whenever I took PTO to take him to appointments, I received a lecture about it. I took PTO when my sister in law passed away and even that was questioned. Wow!
As the months went by, things did not get any better, until one day, we received an email from the general manager stating that Madame G was on medical leave because she had to go out of town due to her son being severely ill. I wanted to do the happy dance because I thought yes peace on earth for a while, but I did ask God for forgiveness and prayed for her son. Work life was going great while she was gone. I learned a lot, did my job and sought help from others. It was nice to be praised for good work by her covering manager. I even got to plan the department Company lunch for Christmas, from what I heard, the staff stated they never had a nicer party than that. I was glad that it brought people from all across Central Florida together.
Months later she came back with a fury, I had reached out to her when she came back to say I hope her son was okay and that I would pray for his continued recovery, I felt it was okay to say because on many occasions she said she was a Christian. Things continued to worsen to the point that HR got involved for her yelling at me and then retaliating because I complained to HR. When I went in for my evaluation one day she proceeded to talk about the gun that she carried everywhere she went and how she was not afraid to use it. She spoke about how she scared off men so that they would not think they were taking advantage of her. I feared for my life being in a board room with no one around and her telling stories of having a gun with her everywhere she went. After 18 long months, I could not stand it anymore and left. My staff still to this day write to say hello and tell me that they miss me but understood why I left and Madame G left shortly after I did ( No one knows the details if she was asked to leave or if she left on her own).
As Mrs. Michigan International, I get the opportunity to attend many events to help promote the charity The Gift of Life that supports babies born prematurely and their parents. Recently, I was asked to be at a high profile event where many celebrities would be present and be the keynote speaker at the event. I thought what an honor for the charity. My good friend and singer attended the event with me, she was a great supporter to me that day ( I will share why in a minute). When I received the program book I nearly passed out, under the volunteer section, in black and white it listed the name of the volunteers, and there it was Madame G’s name. I could not believe it, I called my friend and she said can it be someone else, I said sadly no, this person has a name so unique it cannot be mistaken for another Jane Doe. I thought maybe she won’t show up, maybe she just helped out and that was the extent of her help. I lost sleep over it the night before. My friend prayed for me and bless her heart I think she worried over it with me.
I arrived at the location and as soon as I got there I saw Madame G from afar and thought please help me to stay away from her God. Well, as I walked to the check-in table the Coordinator of the event, came up to me with open arms and a warm greeting and announced to everyone, this is Rosie Moore, Mrs. Michigan International, our celebrity. She looked over at Madame G and said, come and take her to the restroom to get ready with her sash and crown. My friend had arrived but was preparing to sing so I was not able to get her to come with me. I wanted to just die at that moment. As she came up to me, she gave me a hug and said welcome. She proceeded to have me place my bags in their designated spot and walked me to the restroom to get my sash and crown on. We walked around the entire building as she did not know it was right across from where we had been standing until someone pointed that out to her. She made small talk about the humid weather and early rise of the day. She asked if I needed help getting ready, I said the fastest no on the planet.
The day went by as I posed for pictures with the celebrity guests and in one of those instances, I had to pose in a picture with her as well in a group picture. I tried to remove myself from the picture but it was insisted that I remain because all the volunteers wanted the picture with me in it. Soon it was time for my speech, I was not nervous to speak because of the people that attended the event but more so that someone that hated me so much and bullied me for a year and a half was going to be sitting in the audience. She had been assigned to make sure I had everything I needed that day. I tried to be self-sufficient, but honestly was being treated as the second main celebrity of the day.
I presented my speech with confidence. The prayers that my friend said just before speaking worked because not an ounce of nervousness or hesitation came about. I did not think of Madame G or anyone else. I spoke about what The Gift of Life is and why we do what we do. I was recognized with an award for being a speaker. I was touched at this generosity.
The event has long passed a few months ago and these thoughts were still in my head. I thought about poetic justice and the flip side is the person that treated me so wrong was humbled by having to serve me that day ( in the sense of seeing to anything I needed). But as I really thought about the lesson in all of this, it was a lesson for me, it taught me also to be humble and give all my worries and anxieties to God. When my friend prayed my nerves were calmed down. I lost sleep the night before over something that was not my problem to worry about. I learned that I should pray for those that are indifferent towards me.
I have seen this person at another event that I attended, again I was given a VIP seat at the event and she was there in another section with the volunteers. I happened to see her in the hallway of this event and pointed her out to my husband and my friend that also attended this event. I greeted her and said, hello we meet again after she saw that it was me that said the words, she continued to walk the other way away from me. I know in my heart that I will forgive this woman because that is what God asks us to do. She may harbor ill feelings or dislike towards me, but that is something that she will deal with on her own. As for me, I choose to be free of someone hurting me and holding on to those feelings for years.
