Currently, Wynonna Judd is taking care of her granddaughter Kaliyah due to her daughter Grace Kelley's recent legal woes. Kelley has been in and out of jail, most recently arrested in Alabama.
Videos by Wide Open Country
Speaking with Us Weekly, Judd opened up about what it's been like to raise her granddaughter on her 1,000-acre Tennessee farm. She said that right now she's enjoying the simple things in life. She enjoys just sitting outside with her granddaughter. "We sit out on the porch and I eat ice cream with my granddaughter. It's not a picture-perfect world," adds Judd, "but the land is healing."
Judd has had to explain things to Kaliyah about current situations. Judd said that she talks to her granddaughter about Judd's mother Naomi as well as Kaliyah's mother Grace. She said that they both love her a lot. Judd explained, "And when I'm with Kaliyah. She carries a picture of Mama around and a picture of her and her mom. I talk to her about them and say, 'They love you very much.'"
Although she enjoys spending time with family, Judd is aware that her family has had issues over the years. She's turned to faith. She said, "But family is sometimes chaotic and dysfunctional. Somebody just got married, somebody just lost a dog, somebody's mother has cancer — this is all happening right now, we have a lot going on in our family. I read the Word a lot. Jesus is real to me. It's a relationship, not a religion."
Wynonna Judd Talks Being Grandmother
Judd said that the two have started singing together. She said it has become a nightly ritual.
She explained, "We've started singing together. My favorite thing in life is to sit on the porch with her and eat ice cream. She's in the rocking chair and she [says,] 'Noni, where are you going? Noni, what are you doing?' Being with her in those moments [is] where I realized no amount of money can ever make you this happy. I thought it would, but it doesn't. Lying in the bed with her before bedtime and her putting her nose against mine and me singing to her, and she's starting to sing back... [it's] heaven on earth."
One of the greatest joys for Judd is being a grandmother.
She said, "The greatest thing I can tell her is that she's loved unconditionally. I want her to know her best is good enough. I never felt like mine was. I've had producers fire me in the studio and say, 'Go home, you've sung this 20 times. It's good.' I tell her, 'You're an amazing creature and I love you, even when I'm mad [or] disappointed. I love you no matter what.' That's what my grandmother did for me. And Cactus does the same thing."
