Fashion show

Some months ago, we filled out an application for Namine to participate in the fashion show This Is How We Roll. Its goal is to raise awareness and funds for research into paralysis and other neurological disorders. She was accepted and assigned to get clothes to model from Old Navy.

From there, it was entirely up to her as to what she modeled. The clothes that Namine had picked out were more on the casual side. She’d certainly had the option of picking something more fancy, but she wanted to model things that she herself would often wear.

Once we got checked in, Namine got her makeup and hair done. She opted for sparkly eyeshadow and lip gloss, and a braid into a bun. You might think that contradicts her casual clothes, but to us, that’s Namine to a T. She’s always been a perfect mix of tomboy and frou-frou.

We had some time before the fashion show started, so did some practice runs up and down the runway, mingled with some friends who were also in the show, and had some glamour shots taken.

I was backstage with Namine as her chaperone, and if she wanted, I would have walked out on the runway with her. She didn’t feel nervous (even though I was, a little) and assured me that she’d be fine on her own. She told me, “Relax, Daddy, I got this.”

Having been chided thus, I watched the show from among the audience. (Helicopter parent mode disengage! It’s harder than it sounds.) At that point, it was pretty crowded, so I just stood in the back. I was able to get a pretty decent video, and I was actually surprised at the quality of the picture and sound. (It’s not great, but considering the circumstances, it ain’t bad.)

Even though I told the announcer how to pronounce Namine’s name, she still butchered it. Oh well.

The fashion show was divided into two segments, separated by an intermission. Namine was in the first half, so she and I were able to sit with the rest of the family for the second half.

After the show was over, we spent a little time catching up with some of the people Namine knew. Her basketball coach was there, along with a few of her teammates from basketball and tennis, as well as some she knew from Tour de Force.