Writing

You probably have some questions for me. And I am here to answer them. Preemptively. That’s right: I am going to answer questions that you have yet to vocalize. We’ll start with some obvious ones. Annie, can we see your new earrings? Of course! I got these from Mud & Mint’s Etsy shop, where there…

It is a rare occurrence to find a perfectly written song. But the other day, I found one – a complete gem. Start-to-finish, this song is flawless. “I Gotta Start Somewhere,” written by Jerry Salley and Lisa Shaffer, and recorded by Rhonda Vincent, could not be a better song. In any way. There is not…

I’m no poet. In the past, I have fretted over the fact that I am not a poet. How can someone who loves words and beauty and communication and emotions so much not have a poetic soul – a deep spring of sparkling and devastating words, words that cause others to pause and reflect and…

Growing up in small town western Colorado, country music was always playing. At the grocery store, in restaurants, in everyone’s cars – this music created the backdrop for my childhood. However, as is often the case, eventually the cool kids decided that country music wasn’t “cool,” and I followed suit. I assumed that in order…

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about this whole Nashville thing. I’ve been here for 7 weeks now, and they have been challenging, hard weeks. The questioning and stress that happens during transition is unsettling, and in no way have I been immune from this rough passage. I have wondered if I made the…

Today, my mom and I took Micah and Tyler to Union Station in downtown Kansas City to see their favorite thing: TRAINS! After looking at the huge, elaborate model train display, and walking across the Link to Crown Center to color in the Crayola Store, and then back to eat a greasy lunch in the…

Last night, I experienced two very wonderful things. The first was tapas, which is Spanish for “order at least four.” The second was open mic night at the Bluebird Café, which reminded me why I am extraordinarily excited to live in Nashville. The songwriting that happens here is astonishing. I sat there all alone, wrapped…

1) Be born with a melancholy spirit. 2) Go out and get your heart broken. Love deeply and without reservation, and do not brace yourself for the inevitable pummeling to follow. Do this as many times as it takes to completely crush your spirit. 3) Withdraw from society. Solitude is best; however, a few companions…

This morning, my mom called me from a Borders bookstore in Overland Park, Kansas. As I zipped along the freeways of LA, she held up her cell phone and let me listen to four songs from a songwriter’s set. And not just any songwriter: Lori McKenna, one of my favorite songwriters of all time. Lori…