by T. I. Lowe
Music is a constant in this house. Now my son does not have the divine gift as his daddy has been blessed with. I doubt none that the gift Dillon has is a rarity. But this doesn’t deter Will. He just can’t figure out what instrument he wants to commit to entirely. One month he is dead set on the guitar and plays nothing but it, and the next month he is back to being obsessed with the drums. This delights Mave. He has spent many an hour working with Will on his technique. I personally think Will is born to be a drummer. I guess only time will tell on that. My little Grace is all about the piano. She plays duets with Dillon in church every third Sunday. The girl has an ear for music and this tickles her daddy. You should see him all lit up as they sit on the piano bench in the small sanctuary—Dillon looking larger than life beside our dainty little girl. It’s precious.
Mave is doing great, by the way. He still looks like he has worms though. And he’s still too curious for his own good. He set out to showing Blake what that little work truck could really do one afternoon and ended up pushing the truck on to its demise. Mave earned a crushed foot in the accident, but was adamant about only taking over-the-counter pain meds. And let me tell you, that poor guy suffered until his foot was healed. He spent a lot of time asking to be alone. The pain would escalate and he wouldn’t be able to tolerate being around people. His doctor and drug counselor reassured him there were choices for pain management for him, but he was scared he would relapse, so he suffered it out. Whatever he got caught up in really scared him straight. He now has Psalm 46:1 tattooed on top of his right hand as his reminder. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
As for our poor truck, Dillon had a metalworker salvage as many pieces of the body as possible, and then he had it professionally cabled and attached from the ceiling in the larger shed. We call it our redneck chandelier. A hidden message was discovered underneath the frame too. Painted in neon green on the backside of one of the fenders is Dimples Loves His Jewel. I asked Dillon about when the message came to be and was astonished by his answer.
“I painted that the winter before the boat blew up,” he admitted. Of course that earned him a lot of love that night. I thought that confession was the sweetest thing—him loving me long before admitting it.
Hudson replaced the truck with a John Deere Gator with a dump bed. He had a custom bumper sticker made and placed across the back that says, Maverick King is NOT Allowed to Drive Me!! The Gator is actually bigger than the truck. Blake was pretty stoked about it. He is graduating college soon. Dillon rode him pretty hard and the kid has been receiving straight A’s all the way.
Dillon even made the arrangements for Brina to go back to school. She is now an RN, I’m proud to say. She can afford to live outside of the trailer park, but has no desire to live anywhere else. Brina says this is home and I couldn’t agree with her more. Last year she got permission from me and Hudson to replace her old trailer with a brand new one that is bigger but can still fit on her lot.
There have been other instances of Dillon helping others get a better shot of a life throughout the last few years. I teased him a while back, saying, “You can’t save the entire world, Dimples.”
He gave me a glance at those dimples and rebuked, “No, but as long as God puts them in my path I will never stop trying.” Oh how I love that man!
I’m in the midst of putting away some dishes, lost in my thoughts, as my crowd busts through the kitchen. Dillon picks me up and kisses me, before setting me down and grabbing a bottle of water. My babies shadow behind him. “We’re going on a treasure hunt, Mommy,” Grace squeals in delight.
I look down at my baby doll. She has long, wavy hair in the same black hue as her daddy, but has striking green eyes. She makes me smile just by looking at her. She smiles back and rewards me with a showing of her sweet dimples. Will stands behind her. He’s working on being taller than me already at only the age of ten. He looks more and more like his daddy the older he gets too. Besides Grace’s eyes, you could swear I had no part in the making of my own young’uns.
Dillon walks over to Grace and swoops her up in his arm. There is nothing sexier than seeing that tough-looking giant of a man charmingly carry his daughter around like the princess she is. He places a kiss on her temple and swipes both of them a strawberry from the bowl Will is munching through.
“Find me something pretty,” I say as they head out the back door. Dillon turns and gives me a wink before disappearing. Treasure hunts are a tradition around here. I’ve taken to hitting up flea markets and thrift shops for the oddest things I can find and secretly tuck them into the sheds without anyone knowing I do this.
I love it when Dillon discovers something and shakes his head. “I thought I knew everything in this place by now, but new stuff just seems to appear from nowhere.”
Now that’s just between me and you. Let me have my fun!
This life, minus the occasional concert or music awards show, may seem pretty bland or too ordinary to some. But simple can be quite satisfying. I have a gift that many in this world will never taste. I know what it feels like to be truly loved and adored. And it’s not based on my status socially or my wallet or what I can give. I’m simply loved for being me. My simple life is beyond extraordinary. It’s my treasure.
Goodbyes and Second Chances Playlist
“Best Day of My Life” by American Authors
“Daylight” by Maroon 5
“Tower” by Skylar Grey
“Waiting on Superman” by Daughtry
“Don’t Follow” by Alice in Chains
“Here without You” by 3 Doors Down
“Rise” by Eddie Vedder
“Future Days” by Pearl Jam
Any and Every song by Pearl Jam!!
“Slip on By” by Finding Favour
“With Arms Wide Open” by Creed
“Hard Sun” by Eddie Vedder
“Back Home” by Andy Grammer
A Bleu Streak Christmas
To be released September 24, 2015
How does the band Bleu Streak celebrate the holidays? By singing, of course. Go on tour with this zany group as they get into all kinds of mischief along the way.
Oh…
And Maverick King? Oh yeah. This devilishly handsome drummer gets a special gift for Christmas. The trouble is trying to convince Izzy Walker to allow him to have her…
Available for preorder.
http://www.amazon.com/Bleu-Streak-Christmas-T-I-Lowe-ebook/dp/B0117VJM22/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1436390191&sr=8-1&keywords=A+Bleu+Streak+Christmas
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I once was lost, but now I’m found – thanks to my Savior Jesus Christ. I owe Him my life.
Thanks to all of my readers. You gave me the encouragement I needed to continue on this writing journey. Thanks for having my back!
My wicked stepmother, Brenda Stevens. You, my lovely lady, are near and dear to my heart. Thanks for being my Fairy Godmother! You wouldn’t let me shut the door on this dream once I pursued it.
Thanks to Nathan Lowe and Ashlyn Gore for helping me come up with Shimmer Lakes.
Bernie, my love, my best friend. Thank you for standing by your ole lady all of these years and then joining her on this crazy leap of faith. Thanks for holding on tight!
My Little Lulu, Lydia, your sweet smiles and warm prayers mean so much to me.
Daddy Jerry, my sidekick on book events and my sounding board. Thanks for the advice along the way and for your prayers.
Miles Bailey and Misty Lulu Coan for peddling my books! You two have been so supportive. Thanks. And more thanks.
Bethlehem Baptist Church, my dear family. I cannot express how appreciative I am for your encouragement and love and prayers.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
T.I. Lowe attended Coastal Carolina University and University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, majoring in Psychology, but only excelling in creative writing classes… Go figure. She is the bestselling author of Lulu’s Café. She lives on a farm in So
uth Carolina.
She is currently working on her next several novels, the Coming Home Again Series.
Coming Home Again – Out Now
Julia’s Journey - August 2. 2015
The Reversal – Out Now
A Discovery of Hope – Coming Soon
She would love to hear from you!
[email protected] or find her on Facebook