SPRING???

Tomorrow, according to the calendar, is the first day of Spring. For those of you who live in the northeast, like me, that anxiously-awaited season won't actually hit for another 4-6 weeks. Mother Nature likes to tease us with the occasional warm day, which is quickly followed by a passing snow squall, just to remind us that winter isn't going to retreat so easily.

Here's a toast to Spring!! May it arrive safely, decisively and SOON!!!

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At the risk of sounding like I'm bragging, my incredibly and outrageously talented daughter out-did herself tonight. Every few months, the teens in the church lead a night service. The hour-long service is kicked off by a performance by the teen choir, followed by a series of comical skits (usually containing a message) and solo performances by various individuals. While I recognize that I'm hardly in a position to be objective, I would argue that I was briefly a music major in college and I sing, so I do know what I'm talking about when I tell you that my daughter is on-par or better than anyone you've ever seen on "American Idol". She sang a song tonight called "Jesus, Take the Wheel." It's one of those country songs that tells a story (don't they all?) that brings tears to the eyes of really emotional people like me. In the song, a woman who has made a mess of her life, is driving home to her parents' house with her baby in the backseat. With 50 miles to go, she hits a sheet of black ice, sending her car into a spin. Both their lives pass before her eyes as she fears the worst. In utter desperation, she throws her hands up in the air and pleads for Jesus to take the wheel. It's a very moving song. I must admit that country music is hardly my favorite music genre (apologies to those of you who like it), but my daughter does a GREAT job with that sort of piece. Maybe it's all those years she lived in Tennessee. I wish you could have seen and heard her. I swear, she'd have taken your breath away!