As a child I used to dream about being a country singer and living in Nashville. Singing in church and for the company that produced Barney and Veggie Tales here in Dallas gave me more exposure to music at an early age and I was hooked. Growing up I was around music thanks mostly to my dad. He was a great singer and was asked to sing at any and every special event. He and my mom always sang in the church choir or praise team so my interest grew from there. Flash forward to my sophomore year at Evergreen High School in Evergreen, Colorado. I continued to dream of this life in country music so my dad got online to search for music business degrees and where they were offered. He came across two schools in particular. The first was Belmont University in Nashville where the most accredited music business degree was available, then he found Florida State University offered a similar degree. The summer after my sophomore year we traveled to Florida and visited the campus. Did anyone know they offer circus classes as a physical education course? They have a circus tent on campus and offer tightrope walking, trapeze, etc. Random.
I wasn't all that thrilled with FSU so that went to the side. We moved back to Texas after my junior year and I had suppressed those dreams without really realizing it. In 2005 I graduated from Trinity High School in Euless and went on to University of North Texas. Hated UNT. Went to University of Texas at Arlington in January 2007. Was doing well at UTA and then got the news. Dad was sick. After about 2 weeks of tests the results came in, Mantle Cell Lymphoma: Blastoid, Stage 4, 3-6 months prognosis. He was just 45 at the time. (He kept a blog throughout the whole journey at www.bvwilliams.com if you're looking for some interesting reading.) That journey was hard for our family and even harder on Dad. Within a 2 1/2 year period he was in complete remission a total of 5 times, relapsed 4 times, was part of some 6 clinical trials, and had a stem cell transplant. I ended up leaving UTA and switching to online courses at Colorado State University as I had to become the care taker and live in Houston with Dad while he went through the stem cell transplant. Even though I wasn't thrilled about it at the time I am thankful for that time I had to spend with him 24/7 for 100 days. In October 2009 he became 'toxic' on his anti-rejection drugs (he was overdosed on all sorts of mediction) and started to go downhill quickly. My mom took him to MD Anderson on October 27, 2009 and he started to get better by the beginning of November. I spoke to him on November 4, 2009 and he was anticipating being released in 2 days and was excited to come home. At 3:17 AM on Friday, November 6th he died from a pulmonary embolism. He had a staph infection brewing in his lungs and it ate through his pulmonary artery. He was there one minute and gone the next. Brad Williams was just 1 month shy of his 48th birthday.
Now I know why that dream was subconciously pushed down. God was preparing me to deal with the challenges that would come March 2007-November 2009. The dream lay dormant for the next 6 months until God was ready to put it back in my life. He did that through my dear friend, Camille Mercer.
At the end of May she called me to see if I would babysit her husband's cousin in Dallas. She mentioned his aunt and uncle were from Nashville and worked in the business. I agreed without really understanding the significance of that night. I loved them from the beginning. They began to tell me that they were in Dallas until Labor Day because their home in Nashville had flooded along with the rest of Nashville in May 2010. They would live in Dallas until their home was fixed. They left to go write music with a popular group here in Dallas called the Eli Young Band. That's when I realized these people were more than just your average people from Nashville. They returned home later that night and we sat up talking about my Nashville dreams that had been nonexistent in the past 3 years. It was almost 4 A.M. when I looked down at my clock. It all started right there in that living room. Her aunt and uncle, Jessi Alexander and Jon Randall Stewart relit that spark that had been shielded for so long. I left that night and told my mom I would move to Nashville one day.
I continued to babysit for Jessi and J.R. all summer and we formed a great relationship. They continued to encourage me to move to Nashville and live out this dream. I got more excited as our talks progressed over the summer. I planned a trip to Nashville with my best friend, Erin, during Thanksgiving Break. Jessi picked us up from the airport and before we even got to their house I had my mind made up. I was moving to Nashville one day, I had to do this. We spent 5 days there and had the best time. I loved being behind the scenes of the country music scene and meeting all sorts of people who had a huge influence on country music. In short, I was hooked. I flew home that Tuesday after clinging to their porch begging not to come home to Dallas! I went to dinner that night with mom and told her I was moving. Her response, "Yeah, I figured that was coming!". I guess I didn't hide it well. I stayed up late that night emailing music executives in Nashville and looking for a place to live online.
So here goes this dream. I am leaving Dallas on Tuesday, December 28th to follow this 'crazy dream'. I have a place in Nashville and will be about a mile from Jessi and J.R.'s home. Mom and I will drive up and get settled until I have to take her to the airport on Sunday, January 2nd when I will likely sit in my car and cry my eyes out. I'm nervous, but excited beyond belief. I guess I never thought this dream would come true. Thank you to Jessi Alexander and Jon Randall for proving that dreams can come true if you have the guidance of brilliant people. I look forward to being neighbors with you and am excited for the future for the first time in several years.
The moral of this post. I now am confident I have seen, firsthand, that God has it all figured out. He knew my dream needed to wait until the right time, He knew that Camille would lead me to this, He knew that Dad would be in Heaven to help coordinate it all. And I have no doubt that the last part is most definitely the case. This was Dad and I's dream and it's coming true.
Here goes nothin...say a prayer for me, would you?!
"sniff-sniff"
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