Weds., June 19, 2013, Nashville, TN., 8:43 p.m., CDT~

Dear Journal~

I sit here, in the livingroom, thinking about how truly blessed I am to have Ronee' Le-Anne Reaux-Sandusky in my life.  It was as if God orchestrated the whole thing.  When I first laid eyes on Ronee' at a local festival, I immediately know that she was the one that I would one day marry.

Ronee' and I did exactly that, and now we are on the threshold of becoming first-time parents to twin sons.  We still have several months left of "relatively normalcy", so we had better enjoy it while the getting is good!

I also sit here, thinking about the tremendous talent that God has endowed my wife with.  She has the voice of an angel: whenever people hear Ronee' sing, they sit up and take notice.  

I know in the past that Ronee' has auditioned for several television talent contests throughout her life (and has done reasonably well each time), but each time she gets ready to appear on television, the nerves would take over, and Ronee' would end up bombing her audition.  She always took each defeat with much courage and grace, but I could easily see the fear and dejection in her eyes.  She felt that she was never good enough or could measure up, even though she definitely had "the goods".

 Ronee' and I were talking about this very subject while watching "America's Got Talent" and then "The Voice" last night.  I told Ronee' that she needed to audition for both "America's Got Talent" and "The Voice", and Ronee' shook her head no.  She said that she wasn't worthy to audition.  I was stunned at her reaction.  I then said, "What?? Are you kidding me?"  Ronee' again shook her head no and then she began to cry.

I held my wife in my arms and let her cry.  When she was done crying, Ronee' then said, "It's because I am disabled.  People see my disability even before I open my mouth, and it drives me crazy!!  I am NOT my disability: I am a person who only wants to give the world something special!  They don't say it out loud, of course, but I see the truth in their eyes.  They think that just because I can't walk well, then something must be wrong with my brain, too!"  She then began crying all over again, harder than before.

I couldn't believe it.  I thought Ronee' had it all.  She had been through far worse things in her life than failed auditions, but it turned out that she had a problem with her self-esteem.  All those failed auditions had tormented her, and she felt that she would never get ahead in her dream to become a successful country musician and vocalist.  She still believed that she wasn't any good.

My heart broke for her.

I then got angry at her.  I took her face into my hands as I said, "Now look here, young lady!  You can do ANYTHING you set your mind to; I happen to think you definitely have the talent in order to make it in show business!  You have all those years of performing on stage or at fairs and festivals and such, and you can play not one, not two, or even three, but over seven different musical instruments!  What person can do that?  Not even Loretta Lynn can do that, and she's a living legend!

"You can sing different musical styles easily and you know how to entertain an audience, whether it is at the Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival, some local pig roast, or even onstage at the Grand Ole Opry!  You, my dear, could very easily be a superstar!"

Ronee' didn't say a word, but I could still see the hurt and doubt stamped in her dark eyes.

That was when a sudden flash of inspiration struck me.  I would become her manager and manage her musical career.  I had seen enough of Ronee' 's performances to get a grasp on how managers of music artists operate.  I would do all I possibly could to make Ronee' 's dream of country music stardom a reality.

Even if it meant returning back to school, I would do anything to make my wife happy.

So that is what I am up against.  Not only am I about to become a daddy, but now I have to think of a way to help my performer wife succeed in music.  I felt that she had a incredible gift and needed to be seen and heard by the mainstream music industry.  

Just keep Ronee' (and me) in your prayers; these next few months could become very interesting in more ways than one!  I and Ronee' would greatly appreciate it!

~Michael.