A few months ago I was on twitter and I saw
@tothink tweet about needing someone to go to the Celine Dion concert in Omaha. I was all over it. Celine (I've seen her twice now so I think we can be on a first name basis) had to postpone her November concert until last night so I had to wait a few months to take advantage of this awesome gift. Don't ever let anyone tell you that blogging and using twitter don't have amazing perks---because that would be a LIE!
My husband is fluent in French and has loved Celine for a long time. He was jealous when I got to see her in Vegas for girls weekend. So, I knew I had to take him with me.
We left a little late. I was nervous because I had will-call tickets and wanted to make sure I got there to get them in plenty of time. We made a plan. Carl would pull up to the Qwest Center. I would get out and get the tickets. He would park the car. We'd meet at the intersection.
This was a BAD idea on multiple levels.
First off, I had all the cash with me in my pocket. I didn't realize this until I was back standing on the corner waiting for him. I didn't want to move from the corner because I thought he might drive back around to get it from me.
After about 20 minutes of waiting on the corner...in the BITTER COLD...I started to worry. I couldn't feel my forehead. Thank goodness for my
cowl and
mittens or I might have died. I was starting to question my judgment. Here's what I was thinking...
If you're lost, you're supposed to stay in one place so someone can find you. Carl is an eagle scout and a Scoutmaster so I thought he might be thinking the same thing. What if we were both staying where we were and then we would never find each other?
The cold was starting to get to me and I was considering hawking my tickets...I mean, I was already on the corner... and paying a taxi to take me home. Oh, wait. I left my wallet in the car. Can't do that. Instead I start to cry.
There was another little girl crying on the sidewalk and I heard her mother say, "Stop crying or your tears will freeze to your face!". Good advice. But, I couldn't stop. I decided to tell one of my new "friends" (selling tickets to both Celine and the boat show) that I was going to walk down to the restaurant where we were planning to go. I thought maybe Carl might be waiting for me there--even though I told him to meet me on the corner. I realize now that meeting on the corner was a STUPID idea. I should have said I would meet him INSIDE somewhere. Too late now.
The walk to the restaurant was refreshing. I was still crying a little bit but to cheer me up I started to think about how at least this is giving me something to blog about. It didn't cheer me up enough. Still crying. It is hard to walk and cry at the same time--especially when the breath from my cowl fogs up my glasses.
He wasn't at the restaurant. I stayed long enough to feel my fingers and wipe off my glasses. My forehead was starting to really sting. I came up with a new plan. I'd walk back down towards the corner, go into the Qwest Center towards will-call, and then back to the corner.
By this time, it had been almost 45 minutes since we separated. All I had on me was $15 cash and my drivers license. I left my purse, phone, wallet, etc...all in the car. Dumb, dumb, dumb.
I cried to the lady at the will-call booth like a lost child. She couldn't help me. I cried some more. I was SO COLD! I was going to head back to the corner.
I was surprised that I wasn't mad at Carl. It wasn't his fault. I felt bad for him, too, because I'm sure he was stressed about getting to me. I was just upset that our plan to save time had backfired...big time.
On my way back to the corner, Carl found me. He had just barely parked the car and had an adventure of his own---but at least he was WARM! I started crying even more because I was so relieved. By this time, it was only 15 minutes or so until the concert was scheduled to start.
We went inside, grabbed some overpriced, nasty tacos and a cold-stone ice cream. I know I just blogged and blogged about how I was freezing (which was true) but I can't resist a waffle cone after a traumatic experience. I stopped crying. We ate the tacos and took the ice cream to our seats. A few minutes after we were seated (SO CLOSE to the stage!), the opening act came out.
We had a great time. Carl loved it. I did, too. After a craptastic American Idol this week, it is refreshing to hear someone that can REALLY SING!
I didn't cry again until the end of the show. It was Celine's last show of the tour. She got emotional. I got emotional. I think it was because we both just wanted to go home.
Love Can Move Mountains But It Might Get You Frostbite
http://craftyconservative.blogspot.com/2009/02/love-can-move-mountains-but-it-might.html
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