Have all of you met Chuck? El es mi padre.
He is my concert companion. And has been since I was 8 years old at my first Reba concert.
Since that point, we have seen lots of shows together. Shania, Tim, Faith, Toby and I'm not joking the list goes WAY on. I never remember him telling me no when I wanted to see someone. Even if we had to drive a few hours.
And we always had kick A seats. One of the perks to a having a music loving father.
When I was in high school and our music tastes veered a tad, he was the dad that road tripped me and my friends to our concerts.
Many a time (at least 3) he checked us out of school and took us to either Boise or Salt Lake to see N'Sync.
And at least twice to see the Backstreet Boys.
We loved us some boy bands. And we loved leaving town for the weekend. Naturally. We would stay in a hotel room next to the one that he stayed in. Obviously he paid for both.
One time he took me and my friend Holly B. to a ska concert in Pocatello. It didn't even start until 11pm and it was a school night.
What the hello were our parents thinking?
Oh yeah. My dad was driving and her mom said "Have fun ladies." These are the things memories are made of peeps.
After I got married, Chasey kind of stepped in to concert companion. And we have had fun. But he knows I would leave him for Toby Keith.
Seriously.
Well not that serious, but I love Toby. I LOVE him. But being that we are both happily married, I guess it wasn't meant to be.
Anyway, this story does have a point. Chase has been hit or miss and my dad has never let me down.
Flashbulb memory time: In 2006, Chasey surprised me with Phil Vassar tickets. He was actually making a random stop in Blackfoot, Idaho of all places. I still remember exactly where I was (walking into the Venetian in Las Vegas) when Chase called me on my birthday to let me know that he bought me seats as a gift.
Two months later when the concert rolled around, his brother called him 4 hours before said concert and invited him to a Jazz game.
I'm sure you see where this is going.
Katie: What do you mean you are on your way out of town? I thought we had plans tonight. In fact I'm sure of it.
Chase: I know you understand. Shouldn't we both spend the evening doing something we really like?
Katie: Umm no. The difference is that you will have companionship at your event and I will be completely alone. Enjoying my birthday present.
Chase: Oh I'm driving over the Malad Pass. I think I might lose...
Trust me when I say that you don't lose coverage while driving to Malad. This wasn't the 90's.
Side note: Yes, I am a score keeper. It's a character flaw. I'm working on it peeps.
But guess who saved the day? Chuck.
I didn't bring up that story to hate on the hubby. I only use it as a reference to the point that every girl needs her dad.
Chuck went with me and never complained. In fact we had a great time.
So bringing this story back to current day.
Chuck bought me tickets to see Diamond Rio last weekend. I was so excited. And I had my concert companion in tow.
Halfway through the set, he started looking tired and wanted to go. What can I say? My concert companion is 55 and getting freakin' old.
But I had the best time! It was so nice of him. And extremely thoughtful.
The very best part was when he paid the babysitter (my brother) in exchange for his evening services.
I have learned to value every moment that I have with my dad becuase you never really know. Two years ago on my birthday, my life was fine and normal. And now its different.
On the way home from the concert, Chuck and I had a very real conversation about maybe both of us letting go a little in order to move on. Not love less or forget but just let go of a life that we assumed we would always have.
I'll let you know how it goes.
1 comment:
Wow.
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