Justin Miller – The Urbana Daily Citizen
Jo Dee Messina will perform at the Champaign County Fair on Monday, Aug. 6. Juggling the life of a touring artist with being a wife and a mother of two isn’t easy, but it’s normal for the Massachusetts-born Messina.
It helps that Messina’s husband, Chris Deffenbaugh, does sound for her while she’s touring.
“We travel as a family,” said Messina, who gave birth to her second child, Jonah, in January. “There’s a lot of baby sitters out there,” she added, referring to the multitude of colleagues who constantly want to be updated on the progress of Jonah and his older brother, Noah.
On the road, Messina takes a nanny to help out, but she does it all herself at home.
“I raise my own kids,” she declared.
The songwriter has been taking her parenting to another level recently by joining the blogging ranks and taking her experiences to babble.com with her “Fumbling Mom” blog.
Messina, renowned for her accessibility, downplayed the importance of allowing her fans a glimpse into her private life.
“My life is uneventful. It’s just normal,” she said.
That normal life took a turn for the extraordinary when she set off to Nashville at age 19, all alone.
“I was very naive,” Messina admitted. “I think if I was smarter, I’d (have been) scared to death.” More