I spent a large chunk of my weekend sizing up the ladies………No, I’m not Creepy McCreepy Person. I was selected to be a judge for the Miss Dallas pageant. And I’m pretty danged confident that the woman we picked will go on to Miss Texas and ultimately Miss America.

I must admit, I wasn’t thrilled going into this. About 20 years ago, my cousin — Teen Miss Mullins — asked me to judge a beauty pageant, and this was real life “Toddlers & Tiaras!” After the umpteenth parent got in my face demanding to know what was wrong with her daughter’s swimsuit or whatever, I swore I would never judge another pageant again. And yet, there I was again. But I was so surprised by what I witnessed, that I’m THIS CLOSE to signing Emma Kelly up for a pageant myself!

Not only were we judging for Miss Dallas, we were judging for the Outstanding Teen. And these girls were making eye contact…..with adults! They were forming words instead of making grunts! A few of them were even able to speak complete paragraphs without an “um” or a “like” to be found! They were polite. They had platforms. Two of these girls even gave me little “aha” moments and inspired me to make some positive changes in my life! I seriously can’t say enough positive things about these girls!

I’m just saying, my opinions of what pageants are and what a pageant is supposed to be were completely changed this weekend. If you’re going to put your daughter in a pageant, make sure it’s part of the Miss America organization. And congratulations to the new Miss Dallas, Monique Evans, and the new Miss Dallas’ Outstanding Teen, Tatiana Valentine!