Beverly Keel
Tennessean

Country singer Jo Dee Messina isn't going to let a little thing like a six-month pregnancy keep her from carrying on her tradition of participating in The Boulevard Bolt on Thanksgiving Day.

She'll join about 8,000 others Thursday at 8 a.m. in a five-mile run/walk down Belle Meade Boulevard that will raise more than $1 million for nonprofit agencies that help Middle Tennesseans.

Follow up:

"This will be our third year and we love it," she says of the new family tradition. "I can't not do it this year because we had so much fun the last couple of years.

"When I registered, it was like, 'I'll run it or I'll walk it, depending on how I feel.' Today, I'm still running. I'm planning on running as far as I can."

She says the only thing difficult about running while pregnant is that she will need to use the restroom frequently.

"Rumor has it that they have Porta Potties at the other end this year," she says. "Also, one of the race organizers was kind enough to get me the name and address of a very kind woman who will let me use her restroom halfway down the race. I can run for about half an hour and I'll be fine. Halfway, I'll need some relief."

Jo Dee and her husband, Chris Deffenbaugh, don't yet have a name for their son, who is due in February. She says she's preparing for the baby's birth by doing a lot of typical things that expectant mothers do.

"Somebody got me a book and it listed all of the things that could go wrong and I put it down," she says. "I'm like, 'I'll just listen to my body and my doctor.' My husband read the chapter for dads and it was like, 'Your sex life will never be the same.' He's like, 'I'm not reading this!' "

Marriage and impending motherhood give Jo Dee plenty to be thankful for this year.

"I tell my husband all the time that I'm living in a place of gratitude for just everything," she says. "I might die of old age before my new record comes out, but the most important thing in what's going on in my life right now is my husband, who is such a wonderful man and a blessing.

"We have a beautiful home and we're starting a family. It's blessings on top of blessings.

"I've always said I've been married to my career since I was 13 years old. It always came first, before any boyfriend, any person, my family. All of a sudden, I met the man who became my husband and it was like, 'Wow, there is so much more to life.' He is something that is real that loves me back."

Don't get her wrong: She's not slowing down. She'll perform several shows in December, including three shows in Las Vegas, and will launch an acoustic tour in April.

"There's no time off, but now I do music because I love it, not because I'm afraid of what will happen if I don't," she says. "That's such a great place to be because every moment onstage is blissful."

For information about The Boulevard Bolt run/walk, visit www.thebolt.org or call 615-525-1815.