ShutterstockAbby Wambach and Glennon Doyle are sharing the gorgeous story of how Taylor Swift inspired their daughter Tish.
The 44-year-old author detailed the whole experience in an Instagram post on Wednesday, Dec. 16. As Glennon told her followers, she "always knew Tish was an artist"—even if the teen didn't always know it herself. A few years ago, she noticed her daughter was quietly listening to Taylor's music every night before going to sleep.
"Soon after, I noticed she wasn't quiet anymore," Glennon recalled. "She was singing along."
After a while, Tish started playing with Abby's guitar. "Just a few chords at first," Glennon noted. "Trying this and that. Trying to find Taylor in that guitar."
She remained determined and continued to practice every day. "Soon, each night, I'd find her sitting on the edge of her bed, sheets of music spread out in front of her, hair pulled off her face, guitar in her lap," Glennon added. "Playing Taylor to herself. Trying to teach herself."
Tish asked Abby and Glennon if she could take lessons, and they agreed. "She started carrying that guitar to lessons each week. Always a Taylor song in her hand," Glennon continued. "Asking her teacher: 'Can we learn this one? Now this one?' Always, Always Taylor."
One night, Glennon heard Tish playing a song she didn't recognize. "I said: 'I don't know that Taylor song,'" she wrote. "She said: 'This one isn't Taylor.' I said, 'Who is it?' She said: 'It's me. It's my song.'"
Glennon was taken aback by how "beautiful" the song was. "Just a thing that stops a mama's heart," she explained. "It was like seeing my daughter's soul on the outside of her for the first time."
It looks like Tish is continuing to create her own music, too. "And now, when I go kiss my daughter goodnight, I stand by her door and listen to her playing her own songs," Glennon shared. "Her own songs. Her own songs. Filling our home. Our home is always filled with Tish's soul now."
At the end of her post, Glennon expressed her appreciation for the 10-time Grammy winner. "Taylor Swift: Your art led my daughter to hers. And now we get to see her, like really see her. All the time," she wrote. "And for that: I will be grateful to you forevermore, @taylorswift."
Abby also thanked the artist, noting, "Your voice was a path to her own." And when Taylor turned 31 on Dec. 13, the soccer star made sure to celebrate.
"I have to send a special happy bday to the creator of our families soundtracks of 2020 @taylorswift13," Abby tweeted. "Our daughter Tish asked me today to tweet you a happy bday. You have awakened an artist inside her and there is not greater gift you can give our family. Thank you!"
Of course, Taylor is fan of the family, too. Who could forget when she asked Abby and her teammates to join her onstage for the 1989 Tour after the U.S. Women's National Team won the World Cup in 2015?
"Just saw this and GRINNED!!" the singer replied after reading the 40-year-old athlete's message. "Tell Tish hi and thanks for remembering my birthday!! You, my friend, are a champion in every way. And Glennon's writing has been a huge help to me this year, what a luminary she is."
Needless to say, Abby and her loved ones were all pretty excited when they saw Taylor's tweet. Glennon even posted a video of Tish reading the response for the first time and being left totally speechless. The footage also featured Tish singing Taylor's songs.
"Well this is the freaking cutest," Abby tweeted. "Thank you @taylorswift13 your gifts keeping giving forevermore."
Glennon is also mom to kids Chase and Amma. She shares all three of her children with her ex-husband Craig Melton. During a recent interview with People, Abby, who wed Glennon in 2017, spoke about what it's like to be a "bonus mom" and how it's changed her perspective on life.
"Before I met Glennon, I was living fast and hard," she told the magazine, later adding. "The kids and Glennon have taught me everything."