Moments That Matter

November 9, 2016

It was red for over two hours. Screaming teens and tweens. The sound of loud music ripping throughout the arena as Taylor Swift performed song after song on her “Red” concert tour.

We had decided on a whim that day to try and score tickets (or should I say Doug scored tickets and dropped my daughter Sydney and me off at the stadium while he went to get a tattoo). You could feel the energy, excitement, and enhanced estrogen level as we walked through the doors of Cowboy stadium. Sydney looked at me with a huge grin revealing the open gap in the front of her mouth where she had recently lost a tooth.

With 100,000 others fans, we watched both the stage and the world’s largest jumbotron tv as Taylor Swift sang, danced, and entertained. Sydney soaked in every minute at her first concert. “Wow! Look at all the red lights. Look mommy she’s wearing a different outfit again.” We sang along belting out lyrics like human radios to songs like “I Knew You Were Trouble”, “Fifteen”, and “We Are Never Getting Back Together”.

Taylor shifted the mood to a quiet reflective song I’d never heard before. I wrapped my arm around Sydney’s shoulders and grabbed her hand. She snuggled in and looked lovingly at me, her blue eyes filled with gratitude. We both smiled.

A few minutes after, I could sense someone staring. It’s just in my head, I thought. But the staring continued. Finally I glanced to the right and saw a woman in her 50’s looking at us with a closed mouth smile. Several tears slowly made their way down each cheek, her mind flashing back to a very personal memory. Maybe it was a memory of her with her now grown daughter. Or maybe it was a memory of enjoying a concert with her own mother who had passed away. Whatever she was thinking, one thing was clear – this was a moment to remember. One that matters.

I nestled in closer to Sydney and gave her a kiss on the cheek while doing my best to capture the details of this special time like photographs in my mind.

“Remember, this moment is really all that matters. Live fully in it.” — Unknown

Several years later, I’m still thankful for the stare of a stranger helping remind me that moments matter.