Room to make big mistakes

Growing up on country music in Tucson, Arizona, I was constantly curious and interested in the green plains, farmland, and rolling hills of the south. “Wide Open Spaces” by the Dixie Chicks had always resonated with me in my desire to head southeast from the southwest. As years passed and my passions grew stronger, the song became more and more evident and realistic in my life. Just the same, it is the type of song that is considered a “classic jam” in my personal terms, and it is easy to forget its meaning. “Wide Open Spaces” fits the same “classic jam” list as songs from the Martina, Sara Evans, and Shania era. These are the fun, sing-along anthems from the early 2000’s. But nonetheless, they can be honest, unavoidable, real applications to real life.

As time would have it, my fate eventually took me across state lines from Tucson through Tucumcari and into Tennessee. On the road to Tennessee, I was describing to my parents a playlist of songs I collected as a little girl, that inspired me to pursue wide open spaces, make big mistakes, and learn the ropes of life, and "Wide Open Spaces" was of course on the list. I knew somehow that these songs would bring me to Tennessee. I mentioned to Dad that the last verse of the song sings, “As her folks drive away, her dad yells, ‘Check the oil!’,” and made sure he knew that verse made me think of him, every time. This part is essentially important to me because I grew up in a home where Dad fixed the cars and changed the oil, and taught us to do the same. My parents raised us up in the way we should go – in pursuit of our dream, and mine just so happen to revolve around country music and Tennessee.

As my parents left to catch a flight back to Arizona, my Dad yelled, “Don’t forget to check the oil,” purposefully referencing the song, and providing me a sound reminder to actually check the oil every so often. And little moments like that have never been so important to me.