In the Heat With a Blue Jean Girl

David and I went out to our "second high school date" last Friday night.  (Our first one was going to the Horsemen/Demon football game last year.) Now, of course these dates came 20+ years after we were in high school and technically aren't "high school dates" but since we knew each other in high school, these are things we could have done on dates, if we'd actually gone out on a date. Sometimes, I still wonder what it would have been like if David and I had dated in high school. We talk about that from time to time, but I like our dates now. We have more money to do better and more exciting things. 

For my birthday, my beloved bought tickets to see Night Ranger, Foreigner and Journey. He totally caught me by surprise and thrilled me with the gift. Ever since I was a high school girl, I'd wanted to see Journey. It was my favorite band. I'd spend nights in my bedroom listening to "Escape" and "Frontiers" dreaming away to the music. As I grew up, my musical tastes changed, I grew more toward bands like The Cure, U2, the Goo Goo Dolls and other genres besides classic rock, but I always had a soft spot for my favorite band from high school.

For me life without music is pretty lonely. I'm not musical, you really don't want to hear me sing, especially in the shower, and I only sing at Mass, because it's Mass. Nonetheless, I can't live without music. It helps my mood, it helps me write, it centers me and can calm me down or can serve to help me release my stress, my anger or my negative emotions.

The concert was the best therapy and medicine I could have ever asked for right now. It brightened my week. I sang, I danced, I laughed and enjoyed every minute of it, with David by my side. I'm a lucky woman to have a husband who loves me so much. He's supportive and I can't imagine my life without him. We both had a great time. It was the perfect night for a show. It was cool, but not to chilly, the music was loud but not deafening. The bands sounded great. We heard all of Night Ranger's show but didn't get to our seats in time to see them on stage. Foreigner was great. I enjoyed their whole show and I loved Journey. (Maybe more on the shows later.) I really, really loved the concert. I was sad that our best man couldn't join us, but it was a blast going with David. I'm glad that we didn't miss it.


We had planned to stay with our friend, but he had to leave town to be with a sick relative.We debated on Friday if we were going to stay overnight or come back home. All the inexpensive hotels were booked-- it was also the start of Balloon Fiesta and so there wasn't a vacancy in any hotel near the airport. In the end, we got a hotel room at Hotel Parq Central . It was a lovely hotel, converted from an old hospital, which at one point had been a mental hospital. The owners are from Santa Fe, and I've known one of them for years. I had no idea he had gone onto develop this project. It is truly awesome, luxurious  hotel and worth every penny for the night we stayed there. It was the perfect getaway, at a time when we needed to get away. We checked in a couple of hours before the show and then came back to our room and slept like babies. We had a lovely breakfast the next morning and came home. I felt refreshed. We didn't make it to the 4th floor bar/restaurant, but we'll go back one of these days and enjoy lunch and look at the city of Albuquerque.

I really felt like that girl again--- the one who dreamt about going to the show,  quite possibly going out on her first date with her first boyfriend. Of course, I've grown and David is not my first boyfriend, nor was this my first date with a boyfriend, but it was a special night with my husband. I couldn't trade what I have now to go back to a time when I was young and naive and had no clue about life. And even if we could go back in time, so that David and I could date in high school, I don't think I'd want to, especially if that meant our present and future would be different. It might make for an interesting fictional story, but I'm not sure that I want to write it. I like the story David and I are writing together, now and each day forward. We have a few bumps in the road, a few challenges to face in the immediate future, but we're doing it together and we're going to be stronger in the end.