Jumping up and down, yelling, and laughing one minute then crying the next. That's what my wife, daughter and I was doing the night "Zydeco Junkie" was nominated for a
Grammy. What a sight we must have been. I'm not sure if I write well enough to convey our emotions, but I will try.
It seemed as though Wednesday lasted an eternity. I didn't think 9pm would ever arrive so I could watch the nomination show. As I sat in my chair, with my wife and daughter at my side, I had butterflies like never before. My wife had grammy.com queued on her laptop and started checking for the full list of all the nominees as soon as the announcement was made. For 40 minutes, 40 long minutes, I pressed the refresh button waiting for the list to appear.
At 10:30 we decided it would be best to put Maya to bed. They had barely walked in Maya's bedroom and there it was! The list we had been waiting for. I called to the girls to come back to the living room. As I opened the file, I couldn't get to category 72 soon enough. When it finally appeared on the screen, everything went into slow motion. My eyes couldn't focus fast enough, it seemed as though I could not read my own name. When I heard my wife yell "Zydeco Junkie", I jumped like I was shot! Maya started screaming, Misty started screaming, I started yelling. I couldn't believe it!
All those years on the road. All the shows. All the driving. All the CD's that were recorded throughout my career. All the people who were instrumental in bringing
zydeco to the world. The fact that Terrance and Cynthia Simien, and all others that were involved in the creation of the Cajun and Zydeco category, worked relentlessly, and I got to reap the benefits. All the people who went before me that helped pave the road and the ones that will follow to keep the "zydeco road" spreading this wonderful music. So many thoughts were running through my head.
Before I knew it, my phone was ringing over and over again. Herman Fuselier called to get some quotes for the Daily Advertiser but I was so excited, I didn't know what to say. I couldn't think. All I wanted to do was run around and shout from the rooftops.
As soon as I hung up with Herman, I couldn't take it anymore and the joy quickly turned bittersweet. I wanted to call my daddy. I wanted to share this moment with him, but I couldn't. So my wife and I cried, holding one another, in the middle of the kitchen. She understands, she wanted to tell her grandpa and dad, too.
I want to sincerely thank everybody that has believed in me, supported me, and voted for me. You don't know how much I appreciate you. Thank you , thank you, thank you. To all the musicians that helped put zydeco on the map (I know it wasn't all me, even though the article said so) I admire you. I admire my dad and I'm honoring him with this nomination.
In James 1:17 it says, "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father". What a perfect gift this is. So I couldn't end this post without thanking the One that gave me this awesome gift. All the glory to God!
