Caroline Rhea’s daughter is a huge Taylor Swift fan.
Like huge.
So Caroline did what any of us would do for our kids. She called her old friend Kelly Ripa and arranged to bring her daughter back stage at LIVE with Kelly and Michael on the day Taylor was on the show.
“Mommy, I want to meet her, get a picture with her, and get an autograph,” Caroline mimicked her daughter.
Um. Now Caroline was worried. She wasn’t 100% sure that Taylor even knew who she was, let alone that she’d go the extra mile for her daughter. So she set aside any shame or pride for a moment, stepped into earshot of Taylor’s entourage, and called her sister.
“So David Letterman wants to have me on during his last week?” she said into the phone.
“Nope. No, he doesn’t. That’s not happening,” her sister replied.
“Well, sure, I want to do it. But do you think it’s too close to my appearance on Leno?”
“That’s yet another talk show you won’t be appearing on.”
“Uh huh. Well, you make it work then, and let me know.”
In the end, Taylor Swift was absolutely lovely to Caroline’s daughter; taking the time to talk with her and take a picture. But the cherry on that sundae was when Taylor looked up at Caroline and said, “I used to love you on Sabrina the Teenage Witch.”
We were laughing all through that story and the next one and the one after that. It was a small media event set up by Heritage Education Funds to promote their new My Little Dreamer contest. Caroline Rhea is their spokesperson and starred in a series of commercials for Heritage RESPs.
It makes sense for Caroline to be advocating for education savings because it’s clear when you talk to her that she’s a mom first and everything else comes after.
Caroline had her daughter when she was when in her forties. (Her daughter is now seven and, by the way, looked absolutely adorable in a Charlie Chaplin getup for her dance recital because, yes, Caroline fully whipped out her phone to share her personal pictures with us.) Since she’s already achieved many career goals such as taking her stand up routine on tour, having a major role in a TV sitcom, hosting her own syndicated talk show, and much more, she doesn’t feel like she needs to prove herself to anyone. She also says that she is now emotionally equipped to be a mother.
She teaches her daughter not to be afraid to take care of herself first because women tend to take care of everyone else instead. She also says girls and women need to believe in themselves since “Judging is America’s national pastime.” (Caroline was born and raised in Montreal, by the way, and is still a Canadian citizen despite having lived and worked in the US for decades.)
And since, as Caroline says, “Your child’s happiness is within your own personal happiness circle,” we do have to take steps to ensure they have the opportunities to pursue their dreams.
If you haven’t set up RESPs for your kids yet, it’s a good thing to consider. Even a small monthly contribution can make a big difference to their financial future. You can also head over to the Heritage website to check out all the details of their Little Dreamer contest. Upload a short 15 to 30 second video of your kid sharing what they want to be when they grow up. Then get friends and family to vote you into the top slot. The contest runs until September 14, 2016 and the grand prize is $5000 in RESPs. Not too shabby!