Country music singer Garth Brooks speaks at a news conference in Calgary, Thursday, July 12, 2012. Brooks will perform at a concert at the Stampede which is celebrating its 100th anniversary featuring rodeo action, chuckwagon races, a midway, agricultural exhibits and live stock competitions. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

CALGARY - Country music superstar Garth Brooks doesn't look like a man who is missing fame and fortune, but there is an end in sight to his years of self-exile and life as a "soccer Dad" and family man.

Brooks officially retired from recording and performing from 2001 until 2009. He ended his retirement in 2009 and began a five-year concert deal in Las Vegas but he isn't ready to resume his old life on the road or write any new music.

"It's always been about the babies. Our youngest is a junior in senior high school now. Our oldest, we just celebrated her 20th. If God lets us do it and everything goes well, I would love to tour again," Brooks, 50, said at a news conference before his concert at the Calgary Stampede.

"I'd love to tour again with Miss (Trisha) Yearwood and have no guilt. But I'm still two years away."

Brooks says one of the advantages of coming out of retirement and getting a concert deal means he can pick and choose where he wants to go. He said the 100th anniversary of the Calgary Stampede seems to be a natural place to go.

"This was one of the things I didn't want to miss. The hardest part is realizing you've got 40 pounds to lose usually. I haven't eaten for about four or five days so tonight I'm going to gain about 20 pounds between midnight and four in the morning," chuckled Brooks, who is noticeably heavier than during his concert heyday in the 1990s.

Brooks said being at home with his wife and daughters eclipses anything he has done in his career and he has no regrets about walking away from the hectic pace and adoring fans.

He said at this point only one of his daughters, Allie Colleen, has expressed an interest in following him into the music business. He said she is so good that he gets emotional even thinking about it.

"My youngest has got it. She's got the bug but she's got the goods, too. She starts playing and singing, I have to get up and leave because I spent my whole life crying. It seems the older I get, I cry at commercials," said Brooks, adding he isn't trying to talk her out of becoming an entertainer.

"My Dad told me to get a real job and now when you see that it is actually paying the bills and paying for college. you can't tell your kids you can't make a living at it if they try hard enough."

Brooks has been inducted into the 2012 Country Music Hall of Fame as a singer and songwriter.

News from © The Canadian Press, 2012