Bittersweet

Saturday…I have a love/hate relationship with this day. 

I love that tonight at least one girl’s life will be forever changed.  I am so excited for someone to take on the title of Miss Delaware and begin the journey of a lifetime.  The growth and change that a Miss Delaware gains in one year is unparalleled.  I am excited for that person to take on new challenges, gain new experiences and continue the legacy of Miss Delaware.  Miss Delaware 2012, whomever she may be, just has no idea what lies in store for her…and believe me…it will, be amazing!

I hate that there will also be hearts broken tonight.  In the days, weeks and sometimes years that I have spent with these young women, I have fallen in love with them.  I care about that as people and sisters and know how hard they have all worked.  Every single one of them is deserving of being in the top 11 and it breaks my heart that they all can’t be there.  I hope they all realize that just being here, just taking a chance and putting their hearts into it, means that they are a success.  This process is about the journey and whether they realize it or not yet…each and every person has and will continue to grow and learn from this experience.   Only one person will win Miss Delaware tonight but I am sure that there is more than one future Miss Delaware on that stage.

A huge thank you to all of the contestant’s parents.  Thanks so much for sharing your daughters with us.  We have loved getting to know each and every one of them.  What special young ladies you have raised.  You must be simply bursting with pride.

It is also going to be very bittersweet to say farewell to Miss Delaware 2011, Maria Cahill.  What an amazing woman!  I could not be prouder of the way she represented Delaware this year.  She is loved by all who meet her.  Maria has loved the job of being Miss Delaware. She appreciated from the very beginning that the job was less about glamour and more about touching lives.  If you have ever seen Maria in action you have likely seen her sitting in the floor with a child giving her whole self and making that child feel so special.  She has done that thousands and thousands of times this year.  She has made the most of each moment of her year and has made a huge mark on the heart of Delaware.  I wish I had the words to express how special Maria really is but the words just escape.  Thank you, thank you, thank you Maria for being who you are. Gracious, humble, talented, beautiful…you truly have it all.  I can’t wait to see what the future has in store for you!!!

I wish each and every one of the contestants the best of luck tonight.  Leave it all on the stage and make it the hardest decision our judges have had to make.  No matter what happens…you have a fan in me!!!