A couple years back I was asked to contribute to the summer edition of Rette, White & Blue dedicated to my wife, Shelley. The magazine editors used what they needed from my submission, but I wanted to publish all of what I wrote in tribute to her.
I jumped at the chance to write about Shelley for the magazine. The main reason was my desire for her and everyone else
to know how I feel about being her husband and how proud I am of her and all of
her accomplishments. The difficulty comes when putting my feelings into the right
words that will allow others to appreciate what I feel about her.
2014 began with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the
Texas Dance Educators Association. Each year, TDEA honors a dance educator with
at least fifteen years of service and “who exhibits a true dedication toward
the advancement of a dance drill team.” In Shelley’s case, she has dedicated
her life to dance performance and education, and no one is more deserving of
the honor.
Shelley loves what she does, and it shows in more places
than just a football field or an auditorium stage. It shows in places like
small studios tucked away in nondescript strip centers, some of which many
folks in the dance industry don’t even know exist. It shows in lasting and
cherished relationships with colleagues and former students built during thirty
years in her industry. And, it shows in her face as she decides on something as
simple as a costume choice or as incredibly difficult as choosing 36 girls from
almost 100 candidates to carry the legacy of the Rangerettes forward another 75
years.
Shelley doesn’t just love what she does; she loves her
students, which I believe is one of her strongest attributes. She feeds off
their energy as well as their love and admiration for her, and in turn, what
they get from her as a mentor and teacher is immeasurable. However, I’d bet if
you ask Shelley who gets more out of the relationships between her and her
students, she’d have no problem convincing you that it was she. After almost
twenty-five years of witnessing the way Shelley and her students work together,
I agree.
Shelley’s involvement and love for the Rangerettes began as
a member and officer on the team from the fall of 1985 through the spring of
1987 and continues with 24 years as the organization’s Assistant Director and
Choreographer. I’m amazed at how she imagines and produces new and inventive
choreography each and every year, almost as if she has an infinite amount of
ideas dancing around inside her.
When Shelley speaks about the Rangerettes, it’s always with
love and reverence in her voice, often accompanied by moist eyes. That emotion
comes from how she feels about the organization and what it gave her:
discipline, energy, creativity, and the desire and drive to work hard and
succeed.
With an inner energy that gives her strength, both
physically and spiritually, Shelley has no problem moving furniture, lumber,
fencing, or props, and just as easily, she moves a dancer’s heart and mind with
her creativity. She is also capable of breaking a truck window with a scrap
piece of lumber and a single mighty swing to save the life of her dying
husband, as if I didn’t already owe her more than I could ever repay before
that incident.
I travel extensively for work, so the daily operation of our
home is also Shelley’s responsibility. As in everything else, she excels in
this role. Cooking, cleaning, laundry, home remodeling projects, sick dogs, our
daughter Ryan, and a husband who whines constantly about working away from
home; she manages all with ease.
One might think all this pressure and responsibility would
take a toll on her, but Shelley is more beautiful now than when we met almost
thirty years ago. Part of this is her incredible physical beauty, but mostly it
comes from her confidence in who she is as a person, whether in formal attire
or blue jeans and boots, always wearing that million-dollar smile.
As my wife, she is strong and independent
but also supportive and nurturing. She is an excellent mother and mentor to our
daughter Ryan, and I am proud of the bond that they share. Ryan has followed in
her mother’s footsteps, but not because Shelley pushed or pulled her through
those footsteps. Rather, Shelley only guides and assists when asked or needed
and always allows Ryan the freedom to be who she is.
In short, she is my best friend, the reason I’m still alive,
and the person I’d most like to be stranded with on a desert island. I am
honored she chose me as her husband and can only hope you are all able to see
her as I do.
Michael Wayne
