MACON, Ga. — You may have taken or plan to take your family down to Macon's lights extravaganza this season.
Every year, it gets bigger and it couldn't happen without a feisty mom named Jo Ann Josey.
Her son is Bryan Nichols.
"It was, 'Holy cow, I'm going to have to drive all over the state,' and she said, 'I can do that,'" Bryan recalled.
Nichols gets a lot of the credit for bringing Macon's light show to life six years ago, but the twinkle might not have happened if his mom didn't make a long road trip.
"I originally thought just a few stores, but when you start doing the math, you realize we're going to have to hit every store. Little did I realize, she was going to have to hit them all in Georgia, north Florida, and southern Tennessee, eastern Alabama," Bryan explained.
"I know the floorplan of every Lowe's," Jo Ann exclaimed.
She's logged about 8,000 miles, cramming every nook and cranny of her Ford Taurus with a quarter of a million lights.
"And the mega tree at the top of the block, it took me 10 days to string that one," Jo Ann said while walking down the sidewalk in the middle of the lights.
It's Bryan, mom, and another person or two that put up every light, and when you've got that kind of time invested, you show up for every show.
"I keep net lights in my car," she said.
She no doubt gets her 10,000 steps in, scouring the trees for imperfections, and at the age of 76, working without a day off in December, that would be incredible.
But we're talking about Jo Ann, so let's add security to her to-do list every night.
"I don't allow this revving of the engines -- that's not allowed, so you might see me tapping on the window," she said with a serious face.
It's an impressive resume for a woman who says she just wants to see folks have a good time.
As for Bryan, Jo Ann is his right-hand mom.
"It's something we started doing together and it truly is a family affair, so that's kind of what makes it neat that I get to do it with her," Bryan said.