One of my favorite memories...

When I got divorced from the girls' father, Kim and Kasey and I moved with my parents to Trenton, Ohio after my father retired. My father had cancer, so I wanted to be near both of my parents to help out, and they helped the girls and me as well. Anyway, my daughter, Kim, was 4 years old at the time and there was a video that she used to love to watch of Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton in concert. She would watch that video over and over again (and I must admit that it was a favorite of mine as well). On my way to work one day, I heard on the radio that Kenny and Dolly were going to be in concert in Cincinnati. I bought tickets right away and kept it a secret. I wanted to surprise Kim. I talked with my mom to see if she could watch Kasey on this date. I was so excited about this surprise for Kim. The day of the concert finally came, and as soon as I got off work, I picked up Kim, and we drove into Cincinnati. I took her out for dinner, and then we drove on into Cincinnati, found a parking spot and started walking to the arena. I still hadn't told Kim who we were seeing. I wanted to try to keep it a complete surprise until Kenny and Dolly came out on stage. As we were walking to the arena, there sat Dolly's bus...with DOLLY written in big, bold letters. I quickly walked Kim past the bus, trying to keep her eyes diverted from the area. We finally got into the arena and found our seats. I was able to keep it a complete surprise and when Kenny and Dolly came out onto the stage, Kim started crying. I think I pulled the surprise off quite nicely! She and I had a very good time that night and I didn't want it to end. I bought her one of the books that was full of pictures of Kenny and Dolly and for many nights after that concert, she would look at it before she went to bed. When Kasey got older, I would do special things with her as well. I enjoyed the one on one times with my girls and I miss that now that they have gotten older and have gone on with their own lives. Now that I am back in Ohio, I hope to be able to pick up where I left off. When Kim was older, we ended up being able to go to a Wynonna concert in Cincinnati as well, and that was a great time as well. My oldest daughter is one of the most amazing people I have ever met! She has turned into a beautiful young lady, and I'm proud that she is my daughter. Kim, if you are reading this, I love you with all my heart, and I hope we can start creating more memories together!

And to Kasey, I love you, too, and there will be blogs written about you, too! I'm not forgetting you! I just choose to do them separately.

Until next time.....