Sometimes church potlucks and friendships payoff. This much was true for me the final weeks of July when I fell into two amazing concert opportunities.
We’ll begin at the church potluck when one of my late mother-in-law’s dearest friends — and subsequently one of our favorite family friends — mentioned she wanted to go to Dolly Parton the following Tuesday. Good for you, I said, that’s going to be a fun one. Then she asked if I wanted to go.
Of course, I could never manage a Tuesday evening concert with my child rearing duties and my husband’s busy work schedule. It had to be God himself who blessed me with a son who was off to church camp, busy girls and a husband who was away on business that night. The next thing I know she calls me up and says another one of my mother-in-law’s rockstar friends landed us second-row seats and a driver to the concert.
Some people might brag, and I am some people. I knew it was going to be a great time, so I mentioned it to all friends and colleagues. As it turned out I knew all the ladies in attendance, and they were just as much fun as I knew they’d be, and Dolly was just as amazing as you’d think.
I’d forgotten how sparkly she is. From her hair to her outfits to her instruments — she has the bling going on. And, she’s the sweetest little thing you could ever imagine. Woven between her songs are stories of growing up in the Smoky Mountains, writing music and living life. She’s also quite hilarious. My favorite line of hers was, “the only thing real on me is my heart.” She closed with “I Will Always Love You,” a song I knew as a child from the songwriter herself — Dolly — even before Whitney Houston made it one of the best-selling singles of all time.
The next concert involves my impulsive best friend from childhood and a situation in which I woke up one morning to a text which read: Colplay. Soldier Field. Booked.
Now this was cause for celebration. We both love the band Coldplay and had previously been to one of their concerts in Des Moines. The only snag was she booked it, and I didn’t necessarily have time to ask if it was cool with the hubby. But a girls weekend in Chicago ... I was going to make it happen ... and eventually my husband was gracious enough to concede to our girl power.
So the best friend of my life and I went on a cruise around Lake Michigan, ate oysters on the half shell and deep-dish pizza and laughed liked hyenas — just like all besties should on occasion. We had floor seats at Soldier Field where we enjoyed one of the most entertaining bands of our time. Everyone in the audience received a color LED wristband which synced with the music and made for an amazing atmosphere. There were rainbow confetti showers and giant colorful balloons bounced throughout the crowd. And there was, of course, the lead singer Chris Martin. Swoon.
And then there was a monsoon. The skies opened up and released a storm unlike I’d ever experienced. If you’ve been in and out of Soldier Field you know it involved tunnels and strategy — none of which we had as drowned rats.
In the end, our makeup was destroyed, our soaking wet clothes clung to our bodies, my phone fell victim to the flood and it took us three Uber attempts to get out of the venue area. Ultimately, we also left with one more story to tack onto a lifetime of friendship.
Contact Abigail Pelzer
at apelzer@newtondailynews.com