Take It From Me

Superstar

"Sutton, you have mail," Hunter walked in the house on the second afternoon of spring break, "and we have bills." He handed Sutton a large white envelope and her eyes grew wide as she read the return address.

"Mom!" She called anxiously.

"Yes my child," I strolled into the kitchen, "what can I - oh, is that?" My eyes wandered to the envelope in her hands. She nodded.

"Oh this is terrifying, dad can you open it?" He gently ripped the top of the envelope open and handed it back.

"Miss Sutton Hayes,

We hope this package finds you well. It was a pleasure to see your audition at Nashville School for the Arts and we would like to offer you a position in our Theatre Arts program!"

Her voice became louder and eventually she screamed, "I did it!" Jumping into Hunter's arms, her eyes welled with tears.

"Sutton! I'm so proud of you." I wrapped her in a hug, "Let us read this over quick." It turns out Sutton was only accepted to the theatre program, which was still amazing. Information regarding curriculum and school specific news were enclosed in the package. Once the news made its rounds to Hunter's parents, Ali, Papa, Sam and Amy, it was decided we had to go out for a celebratory dinner. After our meal, we headed home to pack as we were spending a portion of our spring break in Toronto with my family.

First thing Wednesday morning, we headed to the airport. The kids were pretty tired but we ushered them through the airport as reporters and photographers stood by, anxiously shouting for attention. "Is it just me or is the paparazzi way worse than it was even five years ago?"

"It's insanity." Hunter said, sipping his coffee, referring to the recent boom in country music with upcoming stars like Holly Jade and Alexa Knight winning some television singing competitions. We boarded our flight, got the kids situated and relaxed for the time being. Landing in Toronto was surprisingly quiet as we picked up a rental suv and drove out to Nobleton.

"Are we staying at Papa's?" Sutton asked.

"We are not," I explained to here how crowded the house would be for ten people, "but the hotel is super close by. We are going to the CN Tower and the Aquarium tomorrow." The kids got excited and we pulled up to the house to see Jon mowing the lawn and Cade shooting hoops.

"Aunt Jenna! Uncle Hunter!" He exclaimed, coming over with open arms. In another growth spurt, Cade had exceeded Hunter's height. We hugged him and he hugged his cousins before he and Jon lead us inside.

"Jenna, Hunter," Ali said, arms open, "how are you?" She greeted the kids and we said hi to my dad and Alex as well.

"Alex has respite camp Friday and Saturday so he can come to the aquarium with us." She smiled, Alex's brown eyes were bright as he hung out on the floor with his toys. His medical condition meant he had the intellectual capacity of a toddler minus speech. Sutton lit up when she saw him and grabbed a seat next to him, immediately singing. "Congratulations on school Sutton, you should be super proud." Ali smiled and Sutton thanked her. The boys headed out to play soccer in the backyard while  Jon, Hunter and dad grabbed a seat in the living room. I helped prepare a late lunch with Ali, catching up on everything from work to Alex and the kids.

"I'm just taking time now to write. I have a lot of good pieces that are flying off the shelves for a lot of the new artists." I said, slicing the vegetables for the salad, "I had one song I was holding onto for so long and Hunter scooped it up."

"What's your process?" Ali asked after hearing Hunter's recording of Inside Out and the song I wrote with Sutton, "How do you get into a headspace to write these?"

"I don't have a really good process. Before kids I would sit on the floor with my guitar and a notebook. Some songs come to me inconveniently like while I'm driving. A lot of my songs are emotionally driven, I think." I went on to tell her how I spent the first weekend of this month with a few writing friends including Rae-Lynn, Mackenzie Porter and Lauren Grey.

"Wow, that's a cool opportunity." She smiled, tossing the salad, "How excited are you for Sutton?"

"I am so excited for her," I sighed, "a little surprised she didn't get through the piano audition but she will do so well in the theatre studies."

"She was so good in those plays, imagine her on broadway or something?" I nodded and called out to the boys to wash their hands. We gathered around the table and said a quick grace before diving into the meal.

The few days we spent together was incredible and so needed. "I got an email from Courtney," Hunter handed me his phone as we sat in the airport, "how do you feel about mentoring on The Next Country Star?"