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!
