Northern Girl in a Southern World

OK, confession time: I don't drink sweet tea. I don't own a cowboy hat. I do have boots, but they are not two-steppin' worthy. I only have the country stations on my XM presets because my husband set it up for me.

In other words, I am not much of a country girl.  Until I moved to Florida in 5th grade, I called soda "pop." To get the full effect,  you need to insert a super nasally voice here with lots of emphasis on the vowel sound.

Yet, I had the best freaking time at a recent Dixie Chicks concert with friends.  I was even stomping my feet when they jammed out a bluegrass instrumental. Slightly out of character for this Michigander. Honestly, when it came up, I only said "yes" because I love the group of ladies planning the trip, and I knew a few Dixie Chicks songs that struck a chord with me. Their recording of Stevie Nicks' Landslide brings me to tears. Every time. Wide Open Spaces is another one. It didn't used to make my eyes leak, but now that I have a 21-year-old soon-to-be nursing school graduate blazing her own trail, my eyes well up. Cowboy Take Me Away also resonates with me.  One thing is for sure, these chicks harmonize like nobody's business and sing and play with such power, you can't help but be swept away, even when you don't know some of the songs.

I am drawn to these women the same way I am drawn to Miranda Lambert and her music.  I think it's the non-apologetic way they say what needs to be said, the ballsy way they draw attention to issues. I even kind of like how they playfully call men out for their folly. Women being brazen. Women being powerful. Women being women.

That's the ticket.

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