Am finally catching up on my blog, thanks to the annual slowdown of news during the holiday season.

Hubs still hasn’t gotten a deer, but has managed to avoid embarrassing himself on other people’s voice mail.

Usually, he gets a buck on opening weekend. (of gun season) Let’s hope this doesn’t turn out to be our second Autumn We Shall Never Speak Of Ever Again.

Every year, on opening weekend, the town in which Hubs’ family grew up hosts a festival, which includes a catfish fry, talent show and fair games and rides. There’s also a beauty pageant, but I choose to ignore its existence.

This year, Tootie announced that she wanted to sing a solo in the talent show. Not only that, she wanted to sing The Band Perry’s If I Die Young.

I know.

But when she explained her reasons for choosing it, I understood.

“That song is special to our family, Mama,” she told me.

And it is. Because when we hear it, we are reminded of precious lessons learned.

Last year, my friend Amy and I wrote a series of stories about the Albert Pike Flood. Those stories focused on two mothers who lost their husbands and young children.

To describe these two women as strong and brave seems inadequate. But they taught me how to treasure each day, each moment, each minute.

And for that, I thank them. They are very special people. I so wish we had met under different circumstances.

Soon after the flood, these two mothers, who were best friends, heard If I Die Young and found comfort in its words.

So on the last day of our series, we invited readers to go to the newspaper’s website to see a video tribute to all of those who perished.

The Band Perry granted us permission to use their song as background music on that video. They did so because they remembered meeting these two mothers, who had told them how much the lyrics meant to those who lost children in the flood.

At one point, Tootie and the E-man met these two courageous women when Hubs shot a photo of them down by the Little Missouri River. We hadn’t been able to find a babysitter, so we took the children.

Soon after, If I Die Young came on the radio during a road trip to Texas. I explained to Tootie just how much that song meant to the two women she had met just a few weeks earlier.

That was a year ago.

But Tootie remembered.

Last month, she sang the song a capella at the talent show. And she dedicated it to Kerri and Candace.

Tootie singing.