Happy 90th birthday, Willie Nelson. A favorite artist I find inspiring on many levels: longevity, writing, musicianship, family, advocacy.

I’ll admit church and Willie are not the first things I put together in my mind, though once you hear it you’ll notice the thread of God and gospel running through almost all of his music, but I can now add spirituality to that list after reading about his purchase of his childhood church and what it meant to him and his sister.

Sometimes you find lessons in the most unexpected places.

You can listen to Willie all weekend long on KUTX.

It’s a dance competition weekend, so not a lot of time for couch lounging. That time will be spent driving to New Hampshire both days.

When we map out the weekend’s logistics, we also need to account for Ally’s wake up time.

Don’t let the smile fool you, it’s a process. Sometimes a long process.

In case you were wondering why there might be more Ally photos than Cece. We’ve reached the point in life where most photos are hideous. Definitely a no-go before her hair has been done.

The most contentious and talked about thing backstage at dance competitions? The bun.

Luckily, we have Cece as neither Michelle nor I are adept at it. There’s a reason I’ve had the same hairstyle since ninth grade.

I might not have the nimble fingers for dance bun prep, but as a seasoned dance Dad now, I’m fully versed in the pin culture. It’s like reading the combat and service history of a solider on their jacket.

It’s a competition weekend, but piano auditions are also looming soon.

She added “Too much hairspray” to her attempts at delaying practicing.

After a dormant winter, signs of life at the Swap Station. What treasures will emerge this year?

Yesterday was Independent Bookstore Day. Not that anyone should need an excuse to visit their local bookstore. A town isn’t a town unless it has a bookstore, right?

Yes, there are adult books upstairs. It’s never wasted time to spend a few minutes picking through used books. I self-imposed a limit of three purchases.

Park St. can order any of the Max books for you. So could any indie store. Just sayin’.

This might be burying the lede, as it happened mid-week, but considering that it also happens about as often as Halley’s Comet passing, I thought I’d mention it.

This week, I went from driving in the age of grunge and hand-cranked windows to driving in the future!

Any collectors interested in a gently-used 2000 Ford Focus?

Meanwhile, north of the border, day one of the competition went well. A high gold (learning how to interpret the scoring at these things is also a skill) for the lyrical dance.

Everyone is driving up tomorrow to watch day two.

By the time we all made it back home, we only had pajamas and nachos for dinner energy left.

Some last words of wisdom from Willie.

“Music will move you, period. It’ll make you laugh or cry or jump or clap your hands. And anything that will move you, do it.”

Go out and do it (whatever that is for you) today. Happy Sunday!