When Our Sons Turn 18...

'Deliver me, O LORD, from evil men; preserve me from violent men, who plan evil things in their heart and stir up wars continually.' ~ Psalm 140:1,2

I am continually amazed at how much personality Gracie Mae has at such a young age. Although it is still emerging and shows similarities in varying degrees with ours, her personality is distinct and intense.

Detectable--alas, all too often--are my qualities of hammy-ness (is that a word?) and a stubborn streak bigger than Dallas. Couple that with my tendency to find trouble and she's in for a tough row to hoe. From her mother she gets her tenderness and general inability to awaken without some degree of crankiness and difficult-to-shake lethargy. And let's not forget those eyes; those are DEFINATELY from her mama. (They are the first things that attracted me to her years ago.)

That ebullient personality, replete with zany-ness (again, is that a word?), was on prominent display yesterday evening. I will sometimes, for no particular reason, pick up my guitar and play while sitting on Ashlee's cedar hope chest in our bedroom. Ashlee came in with Gracie Mae in tow and both of them sat on the bed as I played. (That may not be the best term; I was making noise, at least.) Gracie Mae will often 'dance' while I play (this usually entails holding her hands up and swaying at the hips VIOLENTLY); but when I burst into the bluegrass classic 'Rocky Top' (insert shout-out here to Pastor Coleman) she went bananas! She took to dancing like she had ants in her pants, laughing hysterically the entire time. Was it just 'Rocky Top? No--same result with 'Take Me Home, Country Roads' and 'Seven Bridges Road.' We've got a genuine hick on our hands! (And her daddy couldn't be prouder.)

We just might have to take that show on the road...

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