A Parade of One

There is a sign on Abby's door - one of those "Do Not Disturb" signs. But instead of a warning that someone behind the door is sleeping, Abby's sign warns all those who enter that the girl who lives in that room is not one to be ignored. The sign simply reads: DIVA.

Last Friday we all got to see a bit of that Diva when we volunteered at the Holidazzle parade in downtown Minneapolis. I have been wanting to be a part of this parade since I moved to Minneapolis 12 years ago. I finally got my chance this year when they asked for volunteers where I work. Our company signed up to support the food shelf by taking donations throughout the course of the parade every night it runs in December.

The theme of the float was a train pulling a zoo, so Abby, Pat, Rachel and I got our engineer hats and fell in line behind all the little kids dressed like animals. At some point we fell behind the float - about a block or so behind. We got stopped for a traffic crossing and couldn't catch up. All of this was just fine with Abby as all she could see was a full stretch of open road ahead of her. She stared it down and started running. But she wasn't just running to the end, she took care to please the crowd along the way.

All of the fans of this year's Holidazzle on Dec. 1 could have potentially seen a long, dark, empty block of quiet, but instead they saw our little Abby running, waving and wishing them a Happy Holiday. She worked the crowd - getting them to not only donate to the food shelf but ask for her picture as well. It's dark and a bit hard to see, but here is the Diva in all her glory. (Listen for Abby's adoring fans at about 11 seconds in!)