It was at the Historic Manning House in Tucson, Arizona, a gorgeous facility that's been around since the Conquistador days. Literally.
Our final day of class was actually kind of a wrap-up, where we talked about the program and what we have learned from it. One by one, we stood up and spoke of our experiences, and what we will do with the knowledge entrusted to us.
And one by one, each classmate tearfully (or nearly tearfully) admitted that they've never been so close to a group of women.
Yes I know, it sounds like a church retreat but it was the furthest thing from it. We are a group of politically active women who are basically clawing our way through a man's world--never really gaining respect or equality by our work or our accomplishments. None of us have a little circle of girlfriends to get together with, none of us have ever belonged to a sorority....but somehow we were all able to spend long hours together, endure some stress, and come out of it for the better.
My comments to the class was simple: "We have shown that we can BE Republican Women, but not ACT like Republican Women." Meaning, we don't have to eat each other alive. And everyone's comments were very close to mine. It was a touching experience, to know that the whole group felt the same. Each classmate admitted the amount of political training and campaign strategies and networking was enormously useful (in my case, it has been invaluable) but in the end the greatest gain was the friendship of some really amazing women.
So then we had our graduation ceremony. We had presentations, great speakers, an open bar (most important) but when it came to walking across the stage to receive the diploma, I found myself to be suddenly very, very sad. I snapped photos all day, joked and celebrated with my classmates--but once I realized it was all over I just didn't want to be there anymore. I wanted to go get myself ready for the next day. I wanted to go get acclimated to the absence of positive words, support, and close friendship. Really, it felt that awful! I poked around very little--I hopped in my car and took the long way back to my hotel room. I guess you could say I was a party pooper.
But, let me share a few of my photos...
This is beautiful Sophia, standing with our flag:
The class gathering out front of the Manning House for a group photo:
The classy Christine, with her pretty pink outfit. And the ravishing Beth as well!
My tribute, to John Travolta--and Margaret's tribute to Jackie O:
