One night last week, I was on the couch working on my computer. Between writing my Webb column each week and all my weekly client check-ins, I put in about 15-20 hours on my computer. I work a full day on Monday, and a half day on Wednesday. But sometimes I have to do things early in the morning or in the evenings if I fall behind.

This particular night was chilly. I sat on the couch after dinner, wrapped in my cozy robe and covered with a special blanket my brother bought me at Christmas. The house was pretty quiet. My husband and son were down in the garage, and all I could hear was the clanging of dishes out in the kitchen, where Kenzy was unloading the dishwasher before we read our books together. Unloading the dishwasher is her chore.

As I sat there on my laptop, I heard Kenzy singing to herself. It was softer, but I tried to focus on what she was singing, since I knew it sounded familiar. Her voice is really beautiful. She loves to sing and often will sing at church, especially at Christmas.

“Luck be a lady tonight.

Luck be a lady tonight.

Luck if you’ve ever been a lady to begin with, luck be a lady tonight.”

Oh. My. Word. My twelve-year-old is out in the kitchen singing Frank Sinatra right now. I just sat there smiling from ear to ear, thinking how much my grandfather, Dwain Perry, would be so proud. My pap tried getting me onto Frank at a very young age, but I wouldn’t have it. At the age of twelve and up, all I wanted to listen to was Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, and Matchbox 20. Frank was so boring to me, but in his white Lincoln, he played Frank Sinatra, driving Gram and me around. Whistling and tapping the wheel with his thumb as he was driving.

“This is real music,” he would say.

I often pleaded with him to turn the radio on to 97.7, and he usually would.

In 2008, I bought my pap a whole set of Frank’s greatest hits for Christmas. (I know I have shared about this in the past. Just giving a quick refresher.) I knew he was absolutely going to love this CD set. I was so excited that I thought of it and couldn’t wait to give it to him.

Well, sadly, my pap didn’t live long enough to open his gift. He passed away on Christmas morning that year. We were all devastated, and it was the saddest Christmas I ever had. His gift lay, still wrapped, for months until I decided to open it. When I say open it, I don’t just mean unwrap. I mean, I decided not to take it back to the store. I decided to see what this Frank guy was all about.

So, one day in the car, I popped in one of the CDs from this collection. Frank started singing, and I immediately just lost it. I was sobbing. Hearing his voice took me back to riding in pap’s white Lincoln, and I swear I could hear him whistling. His voice gave me this calming feeling. It was relaxing to me. I continued to listen to each CD until I truly fell in love with his music.

I love to cook to it too. It’s like therapy. Standing in my homey kitchen, with the fireplace on and Frank playing, while preparing dinner is so relaxing to me. The more I listened, the more I loved it.

My kids have grown up hearing Frank since they were born. Ty, now he isn’t a big fan. But Kenzy? She demands Frank during dinner hours. She gets exactly how her momma does. It relaxes her. She also insists that show listen to it every night on her Echo while she sleeps.

As I listened to her sing, I hurried to grab my phone and turn on “Luck Be a Lady” on my Bose speaker, which sits right in the kitchen. As soon as the first note played, she ran to the door to look in the living room at me with the biggest smile.

“Thank you, Momma!” she said.

“You’re welcome, baby! I could hear you singing Frank out there! I love it, and so would your great-grandfather.”
There she stood in the kitchen, just singing her heart out, knowing just about every word to this song.

“A lady doesn’t leave her escort.

It isn’t fair, it isn’t nice.

A lady doesn’t wander all over the room.

And blow on some other guy’s dice.

Let’s keep this party polite.

Never get out of my sight.

Stick me with me, baby, I’m the fella you came in with

Luck, be a lady tonight.”

A song that seems so innocent. About a gambler who doesn’t want his woman going off to give other men “good luck.” Does she know the meaning of the song? Absolutely not. I can’t tell you how many songs I sang back in the day, and it wasn’t until I grew up and was like “Ohhhh. I know what that means now!”

I recorded her singing it and shared it on my social media stories. It’s not every day you see a twelve-year-old singing to Sinatra. I just wish my pap was here to see it.

Egg Muffins

I haven’t shared this one in a while! So easy to prepare for busy mornings.

Ingredients:
• 12 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 1/2 cup shredded cheese
• 1/2 cup turkey sausage or diced ham

Directions:

Even add cooked veggies if you want.

Preheat the oven to 375′. Spray muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, salt, and pepper. Stir in cheese and sausage.

Pour mixture into 12 muffin cups. Bake for 25 minutes, or until the muffins are set in the center.

Eat right away, or place in a sealed container and microwave it each morning for a quick, delicious breakfast.