Sam and Kasey Kahne

some overachieving moms are president of the PTO.

and some overachieving moms coach soccer teams.

not this mom.

i was first in line to meet Kasey Kahne.

i got there around 2PM and was literally the FIRST person in line to meet Kasey Kahne. (that's my empty seat there on the left.)

and i confess - i felt kinda foolish - until Sam arrived. and then SHE had a FRONT ROW SEAT! ahead of more than 400 other fans.

then it was worth the FIVE HOUR WAIT and looking like a complete GOON! me, the domestic haus frau, in my boot cut jeans and tommy sweater, not a stitch of NASCAR clothing on my person camped out in the #1 spot. i was perhaps the ONLY person there without some sort of NASCAR paraphernalia attached to me - planted at the front of the line for FIVE hours.

interestingly enough, i discovered when you are first in line, everyone feels the need to ask you how early or what time you go there (to get the prime spot.) after answering this question honestly a few times, i started responding with "about 15 minutes past crazy."


and it turned out good to have Sam up front for practical purposes too - she only did a very mild freak out when Kasey got there and we were able to get her in and out quickly before the crowds and noise could overwhelm her.

i wish i could put into words the look she had on her face when she first walked up to the store an hour before he arrived and saw all the people and the commotion. I caught sight of her before she saw me. She had just found out what her surprise was - that she was to meet Kasey Kahne IN PERSON.

you'd expect her to have this monumental grin from ear to ear. right?

instead, she looked completely mortified.

terror, panic and anxiety were molded onto her sweet little face.

one component in her myriad of issues is separation anxiety - specifically separation from me. and it hits her sometimes at the most unpredictable times. when i saw her walking up, she looked like she would be perfectly happy to have her long severed umbilical cord literally reattached to my gut.


then she saw me and her face glowed! beamed! she ran into my arms.

she was wearing her new Kasey t-shirt i bought her especially for the occasion. my mother in law said when she pulled it out of the bag and told Sam to put it on, Sam knew something was up and she jumped all around the house. mother in law is a saint. she has some serious back pain going on but insisted on coming up there to witness Sam meeting her idol.

MIL and hubby kept telling Sam how lucky she was to have me. that she should feel very special that i would get there early enough to get Sam at the front of the line. my MIL told sam that SHE wouldn't do that for her kids. i said, "oh yes you would." and she looked me dead in the eye and replied, "No, I wouldn't." and i believed her.

Sam on the phone with Aunt 'Lisa -

"YES! I AM GOING TO MEET KASEY KAHNE!"

in my mental game plan I had planned for hubby to approach kasey with sam to get her his autographs and i would play photographer in the background. he corrected this assumption. he decided that he would take the photos and i would talk to Kasey with sam.


which was a really good decision in some respects (the ones that count) and a really SUCKY decision in some selfish ways. hubby did not get NEAR the pictures i had envisioned. nowhere near what i wanted. (and i am trying so hard to not complain.) but if i had taken the pics and not been right beside her when she met Kasey - coaching and coaxing as she allows only ME to do - she likely would have wigged out and it would not have been a great experience. so i am content with the knowledge that the actual experience could not have been any better for her - even if the collection of pictures is sparse.

so Kasey arrived. walked out the front door of the store - so close sam could have reached out and touched him. cutest fella you can imagine!

we approached the table and i introduced sam to kasey - and he to her. i had given my letter to his manager before Kasey got there so I explained to Kasey that sam did not know she was coming to meet him until an hour earlier so i wrote a fan letter for her. he smiled at her sweetly. and as expected, she clammed up. wouldn't hardly say Boo to him, grinned a silly smile from ear to ear - and basked in EVERY SINGLE MILLISECOND OF IT.

Kasey signing Sam's hat.

when all her items were signed, her daddy reminded her to tell Kasey she'd see him Sunday at the race - so she did. and she paused. i asked her, "Sam would you like to shake Kasey's hand?" she barely nodded. he extended his hand, smiled at her again and took her small trembling hand in his and shook it.

and then it was someone else's turn to meet him. and we moved on.

(See the guy in the back ground - that's his manager.

The envelope on the table in front of him is my letter.)

This is Sam's I Just Met Kasey Kahne smile.

Can you see the stars in those baby blues?

* * * * * *

this morning, the first thing she said to me was "Thank You Moma. Thank you for letting me meet Kasey Kahne." she repeated the sentiment about eight more times before she and her dad left for the track.

and that, my dear friends, is the story of when Samantha met Kasey Kahne.