Always On My Mind

Today marks the beginning of Willie Nelson week. A week devoted entirely to Willie & weed. Since I don't actually smoke weed, I'll just add extra basil to my food this week and consider it good enough. You may be asking why devote this particular week. Simple. Ben and I will be taking a trip to St. George on Tuesday to see the great WN in concert.

We have a small obsession with him. When we were kids my grandparents purchased the Willie Nelson ranch located near Spanish Fork, Utah. I requested my parents change the spelling of my last name from Nielson to Nelson. As usual they marked it up as my "crazy imagination" and the spelling stayed.

The obsession reached its height when I was 12. I hated all things country, with the exception of Willie, Johnny Cash and my beloved grandfather. I fondly remember riding the 4-wheelers around his ranch while trying to keep my hair from being blown out of my side ponytail. I just knew that Willie couldn't just walk away from the ranch, and that he must secretly fly to Utah every few weeks just to check on things. My family always thought it was odd that I primped before going out on the ranch, but I was convinced Willie was watching me. I had to look good!

I found an old plaid snap shirt in the barn that I still own. I'm convinced it was Willie's shirt, and hangs proudly at the back of my closet. I may even wear it to the concert, since I probably won't have time to find pink cowgirl boots in time.