AIPAC Conference, Dallas 2014: The Speech

We arrived in the early morning hours at the Majestic Theatre.  We were greeted by a team of ushers in classic themed attire, with jazz music filling the entry way.  One of the ushers wanting to take a picture with Noah, which was so sweet.   The AIPAC Team had reserved seating for us in the front of the theatre.   Noah was so excited to be there.  We had a hard time keeping him quiet as he wanted to giggle and chatter.  The AIPAC Team had a really beautiful way of making you feel special.  I caught myself so many times thinking I wasn't at all deserving of such attention - I'm no one special... just Noah's mom.

Noah and a really nice Usher

There were so many amazingly well done presentations and I learned so much.  Noah enjoying all the applause in-between presenters.  It fueled his loud laughter.  Midway through I the program, I was sent down for hair and make-up.  A rather fun experience.  As a special needs parent the word pampered is not in our vocabulary.  So as odd as it may sound hair and make-up felt like a luxury.   A quick splash of make-up and a little up-do and out the door and up the stairs I went to join Debby Elnatan on stage. 

It was so great to see Debby again.  You cross paths with people on this journey and you always hope that you will get to see everyone again someday.  Hugging her felt comforting and reassuring.   Although the lights were bright, I stood there before a room full of shadows, reciting words etched in my heart.   At times trying my best to hold back my own emotion as each word took on a life of it's own.

Everyone's heartfelt applause was so deeply touching.  It has always been my hope to transform my pain into something positive and beautiful for others to experience and understand.   And I think I achieved exactly that.  Debby and I exited the stage together, just two moms dedicated to making a difference in the lives of children like ours. 

We made our way back to the hotel for a lunch in their ballroom for all of the AIPAC members and guest speakers.   It was Texas themed bar-b-que buffet, again with live music that Noah enjoyed.   So many wonderful people approached me thanking me for my speech and telling me what it meant to them.   That was the greatest gift of all, feeling like I made a difference.

Picture after speaking at the Ballroom Lunch

Everything is BIG in Texas!  Even lunch!

After lunch we assumed Noah would be ready for some down time in the hotel room, but as soon as we arrived he started to pitch a fit, which meant only one thing - he wanted to be out in the world exploring.  So off we went in search of afternoon Dallas adventures...

Love,



Noah's Miracle by Stacy Warden is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.