Something in the Water

A Life That's Good

"So this is where uncle Hunter and I are going to sing," I opened the door to the studio, "make yourselves comfortable. There's hot chocolate and coffee coming." My sister's jaw was hanging as Hunter came in with the warm drinks.

"Hey guys," he put the drinks down and hugged them both, "so glad you're here. I would like to say, this is where a lot of the music magic happens." The producer and sound engineer got everything ready and on their cue we stepped into the booth, headphones on and the track played through. After two takes and a small rearrangement, we nailed the take of my track Before You. Hunter kissed me and sat down as I worked on then next song.

"She's so good, like she was meant to do this." Ali said to Hunter.

"Never in a million years did I think I would get to go to work with my wife, share a stage with her..." He sat back, "this song gets me." His eyes met mine as I sang.

His arms around me,
prayers that ground me,
and family that always calls me home.
Four wheels to get there
with more than enough love to share,
and a sweet, sweet, song.

At the end of the day,
to the Lord I pray,
I have a life that's good.

Sometimes I'm hard on me,
when dreams don't come easy.
I wanna look back and say,
I did all that I could.

Yeah at the end of the day,
to the Lord I pray,
I have a life that's good.

"Did aunt Jenna write that herself?" Hunter smiled proudly, "That was her Opry debut song. She sang it for your grandma too." Ali wiped away a tear and smiled as I completed the song.

"That's beautiful." Nathan said, waving me out. "We've been at this for a bit, can we break, say fifteen minutes?"

"Absolutely." I grabbed a seat across from Cade and he raved about how cool that looked. "It's gonna be a long day, did you guys want to head back to the house. I'll pick up dinner on the way?" I called for a driver to take them home while Hunter stayed to help consult on the songs.

"What's left Jen?"

"Album title, album artwork got bumped back to the third," I scrolled through my email, "as for songs... three more."

"I'm proud of you," he smiled, reaching for my hand, "as for an album title, I think that song says it all?

"A Life That's Good?" I asked. I nodded, toying with the idea in my mind. "I like that." The rest of the afternoon was productive and we knocked another song out of the park. "I don't want to go on overtime, let's get back at it tomorrow." Hunter and I drove separately as he ran to the brewery and I headed toward home, picking up some dinner on the way.

The Christmas visit with my family was sensitive, but healing in a way. The gift of family is what really mattered this season. We surprised dad, Ali and Jon with a vacation for the upcoming spring, "It's a fully accessible cabin up near Tobermory." I said, "Four rooms, all the works. You'll love it." They were so incredibly thankful. The visit winded down and before we knew it, they were heading back onto the plane from Toronto. "Please call," I hugged Ali, "this was good." I hugged dad, Jon and the boys as reporters were yelling.

"Merry Christmas Jenna!" "Beautiful family!" "Sorry to hear about your mom!" Hunter and I waved, staying tight lipped past the reporters and climbing into the car.

He drove off and the radio snagged my attention, "This star made her Opry Debut two and a half weeks ago, but sadly she lost her mom the next morning. Our thoughts are with Jenna Hayes and her family this holiday season." Through the speakers came Take You Away and I sat back, a smirk rested on my face.

"That feeling never gets old." I said quietly.

"No, it really doesn't." He laced his fingers in mine, and we made small talk for the ride home.