Date Night: Def Leopard

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I am younger than my husband by four and a half years. Those four and a half years are not much except you need to add in the sequestered life I led on an isolated bee farm to understand that essentially my husband and I did not grow up in the same decade. I grew up listening to “The Oldies” on my mother’s radio. My dad had the television at night and so I never saw a single episode of “Beverly Hills 90210” or “Melrose Place.” I would nod my head when other kids my age would talk about “New Kids On The Block,” but the only time I ever heard their songs were at school dances. My sister and I would rewatch “Anne of Green Gables” during the day and read books at night.

When I heard that Def Leopard would be performing near us, I knew my husband would want to go see them. And honestly, it seemed like a good time.

So I purchased the tickets, made reservations at our favorite restaurant in town, and waited for the concert with nervous excitement.

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The day arrived and you will not believe this, but I did not get an outfit picture. We were rushing because my husband got home from work and we immediately had to leave for our dinner reservations. But I did get a picture of my shoes. They are the coolest pink. When I went to Anthropologie and did some reviews, I walked into the sale room and a woman was holding a pair of these shoes in her hand. “What size are those?” I breathlessly asked. Well, they were two sizes too small for both myself and her, and the only ones in the store. I tracked them down during an extra percentage off sale and scooped them up. I love a happy shoe story ending, don’t you?

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Okay. So, I said I really went to the concert for my husband. And that is true, but it is also true that I went for the food. The food. I adore the steakhouse on the premise of where Def Leopard performed. And the only time we splurge and eat there is when we go to a performance (such as when we saw Cyndi Lauper last year). It did not disappoint. I have eaten steak at some of those restaurants that are known for steak in New York, San Francisco and Las Vegas. I have never had steak as good as this steak anywhere else. The chef gives you a complimentary amuse-bouche when you are seated. He also sends out his handmade truffles and candy gummies with the bill. It is expensive but worth it.

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We finished our meal and headed to the venue. There was a man sitting next to me on my left that had been going to see Def Leopard every year, by himself, since 1987. Oddly enough he left right before the concert was over. He sang every song. I knew one of them. One. Yep. “Pour Some Sugar On Me.” My husband knew them all. And he recalled listening to them perform when he was in fifth grade on a fence in his backyard as the sound carried from the concert to his house. I loved that he finally got to see them live in concert on this evening.

There was a woman in her early fifties sitting by herself on our right. She confessed that she had been to their concert the night before in a different city. So, of course I said to her, “Wow. You must really like the band.”

She shook her head, “no.” She admitted that she had never listened to Def Leopard before until the day before. Someone had bought her the tickets to the two venues as a gift. I thought that was an interesting gift.

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I am a sitter.

Period.

So, I was stressed that the people in front of me would stand up, and gasp!, dance during the concert. This would give me the task of standing up myself. Well, the people who purchased the seats in front of us never showed up. So, I could have sat but we actually stood and swayed (I would surely hesitate to call clapping your hands to music as dancing) to the music.

But the only thing that kept running through my head during the show was, “I should have studied these songs before the concert.”

Yes, what I was thinking during a rock concert is that I really should have studied.

Poser.

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It ended up being a fun night. I will look back upon it and smile. Have you been to any concerts this year? Do you like the dinner or the event itself better? I think that is why I am so fond of dinner theater. You get the best of both worlds… And you don’t need to stand… Or study.

Cyndi Lauper Concert Part II

*You can view part I here *

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.

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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.

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I had made us romantic reservations at a local steakhouse. The food was absolutely amazing. It always is. It was lovely.

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But you can’t take me anywhere.

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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.

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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.

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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!

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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.

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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!

Cyndi Lauper Concert Part I

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My husband and I recently went to see Cyndi Lauper in concert. It was a wonderful evening. I will highlight the concert tomorrow, but first I wanted to share a letter I wrote to Ms. Lauper. I was never brave enough to mail it. But I wanted to explain that this concert was special. It meant something. To me:

Dear Ms. Lauper,

I recently learned you are going to be performing in our town. Thrilled does not describe the feelings that overcame me when I saw this. I promptly ordered our tickets (for my husband and myself). And now the waiting commences.

I thought I would write you a little note in the meantime. Growing up, I found myself mesmerized by you. You were so cool. You did not care what anyone thought of you. That was so important for a young girl to see.

When I was in my twenties, I would often hear, “Do you know who you look like?”. I always knew what was coming, but humored them with a patient smile, anyway. “Cyndi Lauper,” they would gush. I would thank them, be flattered, and move along. I took it for granted that it would always be so.

I got married very young and had both of my babies by the time I was twenty six. My dreams were put on the back burner and became dusty and forgotten. I unhappily gained seventy five pounds. I ate my hopes away. I lived this way for many years. I never heard I looked like you any more. I never heard I looked like anyone. I hardly felt like a person. More like a wisp moving through the breezes of the years. I was put aside much like my dreams.

I do not know how it happened, but last year, a spark was lit on the burner. Maybe it had always been there and I had not noticed until the dusty remains of my ideals wafted in my face. I decided I had to lose weight. I had to make something of this life. It took me almost a year, but I did it. I lost all of that weight. I am a free woman. Suddenly the world seemed brighter and I was reminded again of the girl I once was.

I am now writing again. Something that was always a passion of mine. I started a blog and although this such a trivial every day occurrence. It means something to me. I am putting myself out there. Just like you taught me. I know I will stumble, but at least I am doing.

While out at the store the other day, someone paused and looked at me. It has taken some time to get used to being visible again. And do you know what they said? They said, “Do you know who you look like?”. And I stared at them. I did not give them my old patient smile. It seemed so surreal. They said, “You look like Cyndi Lauper.” And the world stopped. And I felt like myself again.

So, thank you Cyndi Lauper. It has always come back to you. And I am ever so grateful. Because you know.

I do.

I just wanna.

And it is shining through.

Jennifer *****

* I will discuss the concert in detail tomorrow. The photo above was courtesy of a wonderful woman I met at the concert named Serena. Thank you Serena! You rock!