Over the summer, and for the past year and a half or more, Megan has lived and breathed for the boy band -- One Direction. You either know who they are -- or ya don't, but they are all the rage!!!!
The band recently completed their "5 Seconds of Summer" tour. Tickets for the one night concert went on sale over a year before the concert date in our part of the country -- and sold out immediately. I kind of thought it was a "phase" and that the band would come and go out of Megan's life by the time the concert came. Maybe she would move on to the next band that came along.
I was wrong -- instead her "LOVE" for them continued to grow!! She follows them on every form of social media there is. Many of our conversations turn into One Direction updates. "You should see Liam's haircut" or "Guess who's birthday it is today"???
As the year went on and the July 12th concert date grew closer and closer, I realized just how badly she wanted to see them. She had it bad and the tickets were long gone. She never really begged for us to get her tickets or whined about it because she knew it was sold out. However, she checked many sources for tickets and in the weeks leading up to the concert tried continually to win tickets on the radio. There were days when our entire family was calling WAMP radio trying to be the right caller number. Megan actually got close to winning several times. I was surprised she was even able to get through. I didn't want to discourage her, but I knew the odds were not the best!
One interesting twist to all of this -- I used to work for the Owner of The Palace and distribute tickets for all concerts and events as well as monitor our corporate suite and all of those tickets!! Back in the day, getting tickets to this event would not have been a problem. Sadly, both my connections and my former boss are gone. I had a few friends also trying to make connections for some tickets, but in the end those didn't work out either. Obviously, I was not willing to pay thousands of dollars.
Meanwhile, Megan's 16th Birthday was looming -- September 12th. I knew the best thing we could give her for this special birthday was tickets to this concert. Although we try (really!) not to over indulge our kids, seeing Megan staying up through the night to try to win tickets and continually looking for any means possible to get there finally got to us. A day or so before the concert, she finally just asked a friend to get her a t-shirt from the concert. My heart was breaking for her. She realized her hopes of winning tickets were not to be.
Before we knew it, it was the night before the concert. No tickets were won -- the ticket fairy did not come to our door. I convinced my husband we had to try to find her some tickets.
We jumped on the Internet and made some phone calls to people in our area trying to sell their tickets. After only a few calls, we settled on somebody who said they could meet us with a "paper ticket". It was rather late a night. I made my husband handle it. The whole thing was rather seedy to say the least. The price for two tickets was way more than face value. My husband paid cash and basically got two pieces of paper for it!
We did not know if the seller was honest. We only new they appeared to be. They could very well have sold copies of the same paper ticket to several people. The only way to know for sure was to go to the concert and scan the ticket!!!
My nerves were shot!!!
But now the fun part -- we presented a big card with the tickets inside to Megan early the next morning -- the morning of the concert!! We told her she could invite whomever she wanted although we were pretty sure which friend she would choose. She was shocked and thrilled and called her friend right away! (We also had to tell her there was a small chance the tickets would not work -- can you imagine!!!!!?????)
Our family was to attend a graduation party that night, but instead my husband offered to drive Megan and her friend to the concert so I could attend my BFF's son's graduation. I was on pins and needles praying we did not get taken for a ride on the tickets. Thankfully, the tickets were legitimate and the girls had the time of their lives! Once I got a text saying the girls were at the concert, I could finally relax!!!
This was her 16th birthday present -- no car, no big party -- just two tickets to see Liam, Harry, Niall, Zayn and Louis!!!!!
The band recently completed their "5 Seconds of Summer" tour. Tickets for the one night concert went on sale over a year before the concert date in our part of the country -- and sold out immediately. I kind of thought it was a "phase" and that the band would come and go out of Megan's life by the time the concert came. Maybe she would move on to the next band that came along.
I was wrong -- instead her "LOVE" for them continued to grow!! She follows them on every form of social media there is. Many of our conversations turn into One Direction updates. "You should see Liam's haircut" or "Guess who's birthday it is today"???
As the year went on and the July 12th concert date grew closer and closer, I realized just how badly she wanted to see them. She had it bad and the tickets were long gone. She never really begged for us to get her tickets or whined about it because she knew it was sold out. However, she checked many sources for tickets and in the weeks leading up to the concert tried continually to win tickets on the radio. There were days when our entire family was calling WAMP radio trying to be the right caller number. Megan actually got close to winning several times. I was surprised she was even able to get through. I didn't want to discourage her, but I knew the odds were not the best!
One interesting twist to all of this -- I used to work for the Owner of The Palace and distribute tickets for all concerts and events as well as monitor our corporate suite and all of those tickets!! Back in the day, getting tickets to this event would not have been a problem. Sadly, both my connections and my former boss are gone. I had a few friends also trying to make connections for some tickets, but in the end those didn't work out either. Obviously, I was not willing to pay thousands of dollars.
Meanwhile, Megan's 16th Birthday was looming -- September 12th. I knew the best thing we could give her for this special birthday was tickets to this concert. Although we try (really!) not to over indulge our kids, seeing Megan staying up through the night to try to win tickets and continually looking for any means possible to get there finally got to us. A day or so before the concert, she finally just asked a friend to get her a t-shirt from the concert. My heart was breaking for her. She realized her hopes of winning tickets were not to be.
Before we knew it, it was the night before the concert. No tickets were won -- the ticket fairy did not come to our door. I convinced my husband we had to try to find her some tickets.
We jumped on the Internet and made some phone calls to people in our area trying to sell their tickets. After only a few calls, we settled on somebody who said they could meet us with a "paper ticket". It was rather late a night. I made my husband handle it. The whole thing was rather seedy to say the least. The price for two tickets was way more than face value. My husband paid cash and basically got two pieces of paper for it!
We did not know if the seller was honest. We only new they appeared to be. They could very well have sold copies of the same paper ticket to several people. The only way to know for sure was to go to the concert and scan the ticket!!!
My nerves were shot!!!
But now the fun part -- we presented a big card with the tickets inside to Megan early the next morning -- the morning of the concert!! We told her she could invite whomever she wanted although we were pretty sure which friend she would choose. She was shocked and thrilled and called her friend right away! (We also had to tell her there was a small chance the tickets would not work -- can you imagine!!!!!?????)
Our family was to attend a graduation party that night, but instead my husband offered to drive Megan and her friend to the concert so I could attend my BFF's son's graduation. I was on pins and needles praying we did not get taken for a ride on the tickets. Thankfully, the tickets were legitimate and the girls had the time of their lives! Once I got a text saying the girls were at the concert, I could finally relax!!!
This was her 16th birthday present -- no car, no big party -- just two tickets to see Liam, Harry, Niall, Zayn and Louis!!!!!
Jacob and Kristin did their best to "fake" their jealousy, but the truth is they are not as big of fans as their big sister. They were excited for Megan and we had fun at the graduation party!!
Sure, they weren't front row seats. They weren't in the fancy suite. But she was there.
Thanking your mom on Instagram for an amazing night -- priceless!!!!
3 comments:
Wow Cindy, I was on pins and needles all the way through the story. Glad that you pulled off the almost impossible trick and got your daughter and her best friend to see the One Direction.
You are quite the MOM.
Hugs,
JB
I know who they are...my Granddaughters love them too...and I'm so happy she was able to go. It will be a memory she'll cherish. I remember getting tickets to see the Beatles when I was 11 and thought I died and when to heaven! They were nose bleed seats and I needed binoculars to really see them, but it was awesome...just breathing the same air as they were was the highlight of my life at that time. So, sometimes it's good to get a dream come true moment. I'm glad she got hers..Happy Birthday to her! (a few months late!)
I bet this was quite a night!! I loved me some New Kids on the Block, so I can relate!
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