Love, love, love these women! My bucket list included visits to The Oprah Winfrey Show and The Ellen Show. Thanks to a friend in Indianapolis who got her hands on some tickets I got to the taping of an Oprah show. I was sooo excited to be in the studio. I almost want to say it didn’t count though because the day we visited she had a speaking engagement and couldn’t stay to visit with us afterwards. And, this show was a cooking show and I was fasting. Heck, even if I hadn’t been fasting it wouldn’t have mattered because Gayle made her way to the set to take the food before Oprah could give it away. So much for my plan to ask for forgiveness for cheating on my fast. Shoot, Oprah has made me wish I had a Gayle or better yet just be Gayle for a day or two. There were times over the years when I wanted her wardrobe and her hair. Once I told a beautician I wanted Oprah hair and he said, “Girl, you better get a Oprah wig!” I have always thought she was a creative genius with the ability to massage her guests in such a way that they relax and share any information she seeks. I love to study body language and verbal communication. She is a master of both! Love her!

Well, Ellen’s show is still on my bucket list. Now that I live on the west coast I am one step closer. Well, I am a lot of steps closer since the move from Florida. Haha. I try to see Ellen daily. I have found that laughter makes my soul happy and Ellen makes me laugh a countless number of times during that hour her show is on. I love that she lives her mantra to “Be kind to one another.” I love that she has a diverse guest list and a diverse audience. I am also fan of transparent people and she is that. In addition to the laughs, she dances. Who doesn’t love a woman with a great smile, a sense of humor, and rhythm? Finally, I love her wardrobe. It’s hip, classic, and nicely tailored. The only problem is that I’m probably a little too full figured and a little too tall to take her hand-me-downs. If I could, Lord knows I would. Now, my girl Oprah and I could talk about outfitting my shapely self, but not so sure how cute her things would look on me since I can’t walk in three inch heels.

These ladies are awesome! My daughter and I are fans and we talk about the reasons we love them so much. I have always tried to teach my daughter to respect the talents of other women and pay close attention to those who follow their passions and have hearts of servitude. We love them because they are content with their uniquenesses and confident enough about their abilities and they are not afraid to celebrate other people or surround themselves with strong, competent folks. They are expert communicators whose warmth and influence force sponsors and vendors to recognize that whatever they endorse will be successful. We are most impressed with their ability to continue to live with open hands even though they could just sit back and run their empires and find ways to increase their earnings. They could relax and waddle in their success, but they never could because the calling to serve and impact the masses is too strong. We salute them for answering the call again and again and again.

Now, if Oprah could
just let me sit in her shadow for a few days and if Ellen would let us play a game we would call, “How to help yo mama pay off your student loan debt before she is old and more gray,” life would be super fabulous. Hey, we can dream can’t we? We learned that from Oprah and Ellen too.:)