The night of the concert was kind of crazy. My husband and I were fighting (we made up on the way to the show. And I cannot for the life of me remember what we were arguing about. I guarantee it was about something stupid, though). My daughter was supposed to babysit my son. But she got invited to a sleepover. She wanted to go. We scrambled. Thankfully, my mom and sister saved the day. With five minutes to spare. It was amazing that it worked out. My son stayed with my family that night. Once again, we were child free.
I wore the Goes Without Saying Dress from Modcloth. (I bought a size 12 UK. I am an 8 US. I love it.). I paired it with my necklace from Simply Livly on Etsy. I got ready in ten minutes.
I had made us romantic reservations at a local steakhouse. The food was absolutely amazing. It always is. It was lovely.
But you can’t take me anywhere.
Save me, creme brûlée!
My husband and I finished dinner.
We were standing in line to get in to the concert. I had purchased us okay seats. They were not the best, but Orchestra seats had been all sold out.
A miracle happened. Or another pure moment in life.
A man approached us and said, “I am not selling my tickets. I am just giving them away. I do not want any money. I have fantastic seats. I bought the tickets for my family and I got the dates mixed up.”
I kept questioning him to make sure he really wanted to part with his tickets for free.
But he insisted. I gave him a huge hug and gladly accepted. And that is how we ended up five rows away from the stage.
Who was this man?
I do not know. But I will think of him for a long time. And I will pay it forward.
I will.
Thank you stranger! You are wonderful. You made my memories better. My night purer. My soul fuller. You gave us your seats, but you also gave us a sense of kindness in the human race. Thank you.
We made it to our seats. They were wonderful. I noticed some girls in the front row. They looked so cool. They had dressed up in eighties gear and seeing them brought me joy. I wanted to take my picture with them, but by the time I had worked up my courage, they had other people wanting to take pictures with them.
And then the show started.
Cyndi Lauper looked amazing. She is so tiny. Her voice has not changed at all. It was fantastic. She sang “Girls Just Want To Have Fun.” Tears rolled down my cheeks. “Girls Just Want To Have Fun” is one of my favorite movies. Hearing her sing it, brought back so many nostalgic memories of youth. It felt very surreal.
She told a lot of stories. Stories about the music. The past behind the songs. I love stories. She could have talked all day. She told us about being booed, and how someone said to her afterwards:
“If 10,000 people boo you or 10,000 people cheer you. It is the same thing.”
Then she said, “It gave me self confidence.”
That moment struck something in me. Her words.
Thank you Cyndi. You always do that for me!
She finished the concert with a solo performance of “True Colors.” I cried again.
I am so happy and grateful to have been able to go to this show.
On the way out, I saw the girls from the front row. I am very shy in real life. I wanted to tell them I loved their outfits. I did not ask for a picture with them, because at this point, I had cried through three songs. I was a mess.
They were so nice. I asked if they had gotten any good pictures of the show, because I am a huge dork with my camera phone. I do not know how to work it. They kindly texted me them that night. The pictures of Ms. Lauper in this post were provided by Serena. Thank you! Pureness. Kindness. It is real.
Thank you so much Serena (in the cool tutu) and Latres (in the pretty vest). You girls not only looked awesome. You were awesome.
And thank you Ms. Lauper. You did not disappoint me or the teenage girl inside.
Thank you!
I love you and I love this story made me cry. Happy Birthday can I take you to lunch this week?!?
Thank you so much Kellie! I love you, too! Kerri is going to be sending out an evite soon for Thursday night (short story, pizza my house). But we could do lunch, instead. Whatever. I always get so embarrassed about my birthday. I actually really loved 35. Don’t you? You get to hold onto it a little longer than me.
But we definitely need to get together. The kids leave on Wednesday for camping for five days. And then its Comic Con!
I hope you are having a wonderful summer. I’ll call you Tuesday when my husband is working after 1:00. If I forget, call me. Cause I’m a dork. Love you!
Jenni
Thank you for sharing your amazing night with us!! I’m so happy for you Jenni!! The story about the generous man made me want to cry. And you look stunning in the blue dress!!
Thank you Sayaka! That man was amazing. My husband thinks he drove down there just to give away his tickets. I wish I could have gotten his name and address so I could send him something.
It was as perfect of a night as one gets. I feel so very lucky to have experienced it. Thank you so much for commenting on it! I really appreciate it!
I hope you have a great Sunday!
Jenni
That story about the man giving you the tickets really made me tear up – just beautiful. And I adore your outfit.
Thank you Kirsten! I appreciate the outfit comment. About the man, he was wonderful. It almost didn’t seem real. I have never seen anyone be so generous in real life, before. It was very sweet. And he made me want to pay it forward. He was inspiring.
Thank you so much for taking the time out of your day to comment. It was so nice. Have a wonderful week!
Jenni
I was actually thinking about this again last night! About the ripples of happiness that that anonymous man’s generosity has brought to other lives by your sharing of the story – I just hope you realise that sharing the story has been sharing the joy (and paying it forward in a way). Really reaffirms your faith in humanity when you hear of acts like this. Thanks again for sharing.
Thank you. I love that. “Ripples of happiness.” Beautiful. I very much appreciate it. I have some big shoes to fill with his kindness. I try to do random acts of kindness, but I have never done one as large as that man did for us. I truly hope he has a very happy life.
Thank you so much for your kind words in regards to the story. You brought me joy, as well. The ripples keep growing. : )
Have a truly great day!
Jenni
I grew up listening to her as well! Ok, now I have “Time After Time” going through my head! You looked fab and that’s so awesome about the seats. There are still some truly generous peeps out there!
Thank you so much Lorraine! Oh, you would have loved it! She sounded amazing! I have that song stuck in my head, too, now. But I can think of worse things. But I won’t, cause then those will be stuck as well.
Thank you so much for continuing to comment. I look forward to it. You are awesome!
Have a great Monday!
Jenni
I have always believed that “like attracts like”. Which means you received goodness and kindness that night because that is obviously the kind of person YOU are. Thanks for sharing. Brynne
Brynne, you are SO sweet. Believe me, sometimes I do not feel nice. But I so appreciate that. I try really hard to send out “good.” I believe everyone has it in them. Tomorrow is my birthday (ugh! 36!). and I am looking forward to doing some random acts of kindness. So, I try.
Thank you so much for always commenting. I love getting to know you!
Have a great night!
Jenni
A beautiful account of a beautiful night- what a concert! And oh my goodness, the man and I can’t leave the house without arguing- we’d be totally content together if we never left the couch. Oh the stress of going anywhere 🙂
You look beautiful in that shade of blue. Happy Birthday!
Thank you so much Sarah! That blue would look great on you, too. I love the couch, not quite as much as I love the bed, but it is close. We are off to see World War Z. Cause what else would I do on my birthday?
Have a great day!
Jenni
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