Taylor Swift - The Eras Tour

Not many experiences and memories in life fall into the category of "unforgettable." As much as I've been fortunate to experience many memorable things, there are very few things I'd put into this category. It's the moments you see beauty; it's the moments you are thankful beyond words. It's the moments you see God's goodness in humanity and nature. It's moments you witness or experience pure joy. It's moments you are taught lessons about our human condition, even in the midst of real pain and suffering. 

To share a few, there was a moment tobogganing down a mountain in Switzerland, chasing after Graham, flying around the curves with my daughter holding on to me, screaming with pure excitement. The scenery and joy of the moment was unreal. The moment my paw-paw packed a small bag, he left his home to go to a hospice facility at the end of a long battle with cancer, knowing he'd never return. It taught me a lot about death and how little meaning material things will have in the end. I spent a week in Haiti on two occasions; that will give you an objective perspective of how good we have it here in America, even in our worst moments. The hot tub in the Shenandoah mountains. Yep, I like that one. Body diving with my kids in Rosemary. And a few more with similar impact that I won't mention. These moments have all marked me in very unique ways. I'd add the Taylor Swift Eras Tour concert to that list. Here is why:

Creating and embracing experiences that bring you together is essential when you have kids. It is not always easy to find common interests with your kids, but as the parent, it is our job to try. Frankly, if you have more than one child, it becomes even more difficult. This concert was a lesson in this. I've become a Swiftie. Why? Because my daughter is. 

The process of getting tickets was painful in a first-world sense. I was one of the millions who sat behind a computer for a day in November trying to secure two tickets on Ticketmaster—one for Ava and one for Lynn. See, they were both celebrating milestone birthdays the summer of her tour—birthdays 40 and 13! What better way to celebrate than at a Taylor Swift concert when you are a big fan of her music? Well, this didn't go as planned.

Instead, I spent nearly six months trying to figure out that happy medium between an unforgettable experience that it would be against the backdrop of unrealistic ticket prices on StubHub. To make matters worse, knowing how it all played out gnawed at me, creating an unwillingness to pay those prices when the actual market didn't warrant it, chalking it up to wisdom. 

Long story short, after a lot of almost-bought tickets here, then here, and here, we held out for the shows in Denver with a plan to go to LA if it didn't work out. But it worked out. As a verified fan, another conversation, I did enough research to know Ticketmaster randomly dropped more tickets the day of, so on that Saturday, July 15, 2023, I was ready. I was ready for the possibility of a ticket drop on Ticketmaster but also prepared to buy low on StubHub as the secondary market usually collapsed 30 minutes before the show. I watched it play out over several markets and happen on the Friday night show in Denver. Saturday morning, we woke up, got in the car, headed to buy cowgirl boots, then headed downtown; no tickets, but a plan.

Around noon, new tickets dropped on Ticketmaster, and like Eminem, my palms were sweaty in nervousness; wandering around a bookstore near Coors Field in panic, realizing the opportunity, and in my nervousness, I somehow secured three floor seats for face value. All three tickets totaled less than one on the secondary market, even the last-minute ones. I was in shock at what just transpired. Life was good. I was excited to have the opportunity to have this experience with them. 

Our last two years living in New York City were during COVID-19. Precious years, but very different years. I learned many of her songs because Taylor was often played in our apartment during that time. And during those two COVID years, Folklore and Evermore had just come out. I frequently listened to those albums on the many days I'd ride a bike up the West Side Highway to Greenwich Village and Central Park to spend the day. So, as much as I want to chalk up my fandom to Ava, the truth is hearing many of those songs brings me back to those bike-riding afternoons, many with my wife, that I miss and enjoyed so much. 

As we walked into the stadium, it was surreal we were there. I couldn't believe it worked out. We had floor seats, middle stage, and last row. Randomly, those are the seats we secured. Because they were in the last row, Ava got to stand on the chair for the entire concert. She's not tall, so this was another perfect scenario that just worked out. That would not have been the case if it were any other row. She literally had the perfect view. The dozens of details that worked out in our favor to bring us to that point were not lost on me. I was beyond thankful.

Honestly, I was prepared to sit in the car or a local bar and wait for six hours as they enjoyed the concert. That was the most likely scenario heading into the day. But I didn't. I got to see the pure joy on my daughter's face as Taylor came on stage; I got to stand and sing all the songs I knew so well from a tough but precious season of life; I got to experience with my girls what they'd both say was one of the best nights of their lives. I got to experience that with them. That day, those four hours, seeing their reactions, made all the stress and effort worth it. If the process would have been easy, maybe it wouldn't have been as memorable. 

The lesson is to embrace your kids' interests, put yourself in environments to create memories through experiences and enjoy the journey. My future self will always come back to these precious moments every time I hear a Taylor Swift song. She's been the soundtrack of this season of our lives. And one day, this season will end. But I have the memories of this unique experience, and I pieced together the video below using our three cell phones to document it. When my life ends, it's these unforgettable moments with those I love that will be what I cherish the most. Long live.