The Eras Tour

I have been a Taylor Swift fan since her very first single, Tim McGraw. I have followed her through every album, every genre change and every reinvention of herself. Now I have shared my love of her music with my daughter, who herself wants to be a singer someday. So of course when the Eras Tour was announced I raced right over to the Ticketmaster website and signed up to hopefully get a spot in the presale. Much to my dismay we were waitlisted, like millions of other fans hoping to get a seat at one of her shows. I researched just buying resale tickets for her show in Atlanta but the cost of two tickets in bad seats was more than our mortgage payment. It seemed that it just was not in the cards for me to take Leanna to a concert.

Until one night I was browsing on Facebook while the kids were getting ready for bed. The first post on my feed was from the mother of one of Joel’s cross country runners. She had posted that she had two tickets available to a Taylor Swift concert. Many people were already commenting on the post saying they were interested and would like the tickets. I commented as well but then I had an idea. I literally sprinted through the house into the bathroom to ask Joel if he had this parents cell number. He of course said he did and I insisted that he call her immediately. I’m not sure he even understood the words that were coming out of my mouth I was talking so fast and everything I was saying was running together. He told me he would text the parent about the tickets, which I insisted was unacceptable, he had to call before these got sold to someone else. It was our only chance I told him!

He did indeed get in contact with the parent and she agreed to sell us the tickets at the cost she paid for them. I remember just sitting down and tears welling up in my eyes realizing that there were still good hearted people in this world. She told us that she just did not have the heart to price gouge these tickets for resale like the rest of the world was doing. She wanted someone she knew would use and enjoy them to have them. So we made our transaction and Leanna and I had secured tickets to an Eras Tour show.

When all this transpired I was only thinking about getting the tickets in hand, not about all the other logistics that would need to fall into place in order to make this happen. First issue was that the tickets were for her show in Nashville, TN so this was not as close to us as the Atlanta show we were originally looking at. Second issue was that Joel’s State Championship Track Meet was on the same weekend as the concert, so he would not be able to travel with us to Nashville. Third and clearly the biggest issue was that I would be 37 weeks pregnant on the week of the show. Yes you read that correctly, 37 weeks pregnant.

We had plenty of time for planning between the time we secured the tickets and the actual dates of travel. So we made our preparations and hoped that we would get a clearance from the doctor for me to travel at that late in my pregnancy. At my 35 week checkup the doctor told me that I had a green light to go, but that I could not drive there and back. I already had a significant amount of swelling in my legs and ankles that a 7 hour car right was not in the cards for me. Once again we pivoted and purchased plane tickets for Leanna and I to fly to Nashville.

At this point she and I would be flying there alone, renting a car and staying in a hotel downtown close to the concert stadium. Joel and Solomon would be traveling with the track team to the lower part of SC for the state meet and would be unavailable to us should an emergency arise. Everyone that I mentioned our plan to thought I was absolutely insane but this did not deter me. I wanted to make this trip special for Leanna before the baby was born. Something that she would cherish forever that was just between me and her.

So on the weekend of the concert we booked our flight for Friday morning out of Charlotte. I went to work long enough to check on things for the day and Leanna went to class long enough to be counted as present. We then drove to Charlotte and caught our flight. Upon arrival in Nashville we were an hour ahead, so we secured our rental car and headed to our hotel for check in. Once we were settled in our room we ventured out for breakfast. I had found a place that was just a short walk from the hotel. We had plenty of time to kill before we had to get ready for the show. Taylor was not coming on stage until 8pm and I knew that Leanna did not know any of the opening acts, so we planned to arrive between 7-8.

After breakfast we decided to walk to the Ryman Auditorium. This was a huge mistake on my part! In my mind I was trying to stay active and keep from sitting and letting my legs swell. However we had to walk almost two miles, mostly uphill to get to the auditorium. We also walked through Music Row where we were covered in smoke from so many people smoking cigarettes on the sidewalk. It was an interesting conversation trying to explain to Leanna what a cigarette was, as she had never seen or smelled one before. Once we arrived at the Ryman we quickly filled in for the video intro. Leanna was captivated watching the history of Country Music unfold before her eyes. She danced and laughed as the story of the Ryman was told. Afterwards we took the self guided walking tour through the auditorium, looking at the exhibits and telling her the story of all the singers who had once graced this stage. At the end of our tour she was able to hop on stage to pose with the microphone. You could tell she was soaking everything in and taking notes in her head about what all it took to not only be a singer, but to be a star. We stopped in the gift shop on the way out where to my surprise Leanna asked for only a single item, a pink cowgirl hat with rhinestones. I also grabbed a quick refrigerator magnet as a memento.

After the Ryman we walked back towards our hotel stopping by the Country Music Hall of Fame. Due to their newly unveiled Taylor Swift exhibit the lines were outrageously long. We were both already tired and so thought it best to head back to our hotel before the show. Once we arrived the damage had been done, we were both exhausted but too excited about the night to take a nap. So we did the best we could and just laid down to rest our feet for an hour or so before getting ready.

Leanna had chosen to dress in her Red Era for the show. She had picked out a red romper with rhinestones and a pair of red combat boots. I dressed in my Evermore Era with a long lace dress that allowed plenty of room for my very large baby bump. Traffic to the stadium was a nightmare in every direction, so we left with plenty of time to spare even though the stadium was only 1 mile from the hotel. I had purchased a parking pass for a semi close lot to the stadium. When we arrived it was a zoo trying to get to the lot, people were everywhere and at least 500 people or more were in the merchandise line alone. Finally we found our lot as they were closing the gates. The attendant said that the lot was full. I quickly pulled up my paid ticket on my phone and she could see the worry on my face. She assured me that I could pull into lot J or K and that my parking pass would work there. As I circled back around to find the lot I saw an attendant waving me to turn around into the handicap lot closest to the stadium. They were blocking off the road and telling me to circle back around the entire stadium to get to the lot I now needed. Thankfully the attendant in the handicap lot took one look at my very large pregnant belly, the look on my face and the sweet 6 year old in the back seat and said ma’am I think we have a space for you to park here. She glanced at my pass for half a second, inspected the car and waived me through. We were in a spot literally beside the gate entrance and I let out a prayer of relief.

Finding our seats was a breeze and Leanna was enthralled by all the fans and their ensembles. We made our way to our section and of course as soon as we sat down it started to drizzle. We quickly threw on some ponchos and knew that this would not get us down. The fans in our section were so sweet to Leanna, giving her rings and friendship bracelets even though she had none to trade in return. She had never been to a real concert before and these complete strangers were making her feel like a princess in true swiftie fashion.

Right at 8 o’clock the concert began. It was everything we thought it would be and then even more! Leanna was standing in her seat bellowing out the words like the little Swiftie that she is! She sang, danced, shouted and cheered as the Lover set rolled on! By the time we hit the Evermore set she was fading fast. The adventures of the day had worn her out and it was two hours past her normal bedtime. She managed to groggily make it through Reputation and Red but by song two of the Folklore set she was asleep in my lap. She bounced back up for a song of two from 1989 but it was clear that she was not going to last until the end of the night and I knew that I would be unable to carry her back to the car. I asked her if she could just hold on until the surprise songs and boy are we both glad that she did! As the surprise song portion of the night began Taylor revealed the release date for Speak Now Taylors Version and the energy from that crowd was something neither of us will ever forget! After a snappy version of Sparks Fly on the guitar Taylor took to the piano to perform Teardrops on my Guitar, which is one of Leanna’s favorite Taylor Swift songs.

After the surprise songs were over we started making our way to the car. We stopped by the merchandise stand on the way out and Leanna quickly chose a light up baton as her souvenir. We made

it to the jumbo screen in time to snap a quick pick and then made a swift exit to the car. We drove out of the parking lot belting Karma from the top of our lungs. The bright side of our early exit was that the traffic we had encountered before the concert was nonexistent now and so our travel back to the hotel was a breeze. Leanna made it to the room, grabbed a quick bath and laid down to bed at 1am our time. She was asleep the moment her head hit the pillow.

The next morning we stopped for a quick breakfast and then headed back to the airport. On the plane ride home Leanna looked over to me an said “mommy that was the best day of my whole life and I’ll never forget it” and then leaned in to give me a big tight hug. I choked back tears as I told her I loved her and I would never forget it either.

Was I crazy to travel to Nashville with my 6 year old daughter alone while I was 37 weeks pregnant? Yes! Would I do it again? Yes, in a heartbeat because we will always hold onto that memory together and it will live in our hearts forever.