Smiff Meets American Idol

One of the best parts of being a parent is seeing bits and pieces of yourself in them.

When I was growing up, I hung out amongst country music royalty on a regular basis. I didn't know that these people were "special" until I got older. I mean, I thought everybody's parents had good friends who had a collection of Nudie suits and colorful cowboy boots like Carl Smith did. That was the norm. It's been much the same for my kids, getting to meet legends (most of the time unimpressed) and do stuff like hang out backstage at the Grand Ole Opry. I used to get Dad to haul me out there when certain people would be performing.

For my kids, they've been to the Opry a number of times throughout their lives. Regulations are stricter now for bringing children backstage so they didn't get to go a lot until the last couple years. When I was a kid, there were no such rules until Sonny Osborne got mad when some kid ran into his banjo neck and broke it, but, I digress.

This past weekend, the Princess Daughter made her first arrangements (on her own via her grandma) to go to the Opry when Dad was not playing. She wanted to see her hero, Carrie Underwood, and see her she did.

If she lives to be 190, she will remember meeting Carrie just as I remember the first time I met Emmylou when I was about 15. I don't have a photograph from that first meeting but I would be I had the same scared, "I can't believe this" look on my face that my sweet daughter has here.