Mattie Mae's Fight Song.

If you're anything like me and my family, the Michigan Fight Song stirs something in your soul every time you hear it.  "Hail to the Victors" was the first lullabye my husband sang to each of our children, and my 19 month old would fit right in at The Big House because he already pumps his fist with every "Hail!"  

My husband also included it on my workout playlist, and every time it comes on the shuffle, I feel a combination of nostalgia and an intense urge to beat a Buckeye.  But now that my niece, Mattie Mae, has arrived, I think of even more than a house filled with my brothers' football team, Lev's Pretzels, and beating Buckeyes.  I think of Mattie Mae and her heart, and I say a little prayer.

This is my beautiful, precious niece and Goddaughter, Mattison Mae Roberts (along with her daddy, my brother, of course).  She smells of that perfect combination of newborn-ness, spit-up, and baby oil.  She loves to be snuggled,  has the biggest dimples I've ever seen on a 3 month old, and she shows them off every time she farts (at least that's what her proud daddy tells me).  She also has a heart condition called Tetrology of the Fallot that requires open heart surgery on Monday, June 13.  The surgery will be performed by the experts at the University of Michigan.


But you see, there is more of a link to U of M, than these amazing doctors who will be taking great care of my niece.  U of M Football had an awesome defensive coordinator when I was in high school.  His name is Greg Mattison.  He is my sister-in-law's father.  He is affectionately known as "Grand Daddy Mattie" now that his granddaughters (Mattie Mae and Hadlee Louise Mattison) have arrived.  When Greg was at U of M, Lisa,my sister-in-law, played on a summer softball team with me in Ann Arbor.  And so she met her lifetime crush, my brother.  The road was long and winding, but led Ken, Lisa, Grand Daddy Mattie, and of course, the lovely Grannie Annie back to the Ann Arbor area and U of M where Greg is, once again, the Defensive Coordinator.  Little Mattie Mae, before she was even a thought in anyone's mind was saying, Mama, take me back to where it all started.  I think it's amazing when God does that.


So on Monday, join me in helping Mattie fight her fight by playing Mattie Mae's fight song by clicking on the link below and say a little prayer for my sweet, dimpled niece.
http://www.fightmusic.com/mp3/big10/Michigan__Hail_To_The_Victors.mp3


And I pray that this fall, when the Maize and Blue take the field, I'll be singing "Hail to the Victors" for the victory God gives Mattie and the U of M doctors over this crappy heart condition.  

I don't know about you, but I think that's a victory that even a Buckeye would be happy to cheer for.