Princess Erin

Anyone who knows me knows I would do anything for my wonderful daughter, but it's not often that I get a chance to surprise her with something. Mostly because I can't keep my mouth shut long enough, but also because we're together so much and we know what the other person is doing most of the time. So when she told me George Strait and Reba McIntire were coming to the Sprint Center, I thought maybe the opportunity had presented itself. She first mentioned something last fall, jokingly hinting to me on facebook that tickets would make a great Christmas gift. One problem - they weren't on sale yet. Then SOMEHOW her friend and cubemate Howard comes back to work after Christmas with tickets to the concert. Thanks alot Howard. Way to put the pressure on!!! I started checking the Sprint Center website weekly, checking for the sale date, and with the concert steadily approaching, nothing had been announced. Including ticket prices. I had no idea if I was even going to be able to afford 2 tickets at this point. I'd been hearing that tickets had been selling out in less than an hour at other sites, so I joined the loyal listeners clubs for all the country radio stations in Kansas City, and signed up for emails from the Sprint Center in hopes of getting in on a presale. Long story short, I got an email from the Sprint Center 2 days before the official sale date with a code word to order a day early. Score! I got on the computer early that day and made sure all of my information in Ticketmaster was up to date so when the time came, there wouldn't be any hiccups. At 10:00 on the dot I clicked on the "order tickets" button, and 30 seconds later, I was the proud owner of 2 excellent seats for the concert of the year!!!

Now the hard part -- not telling Erin about it until I had the actual tickets in my hand. I had to listen to her talk about trying to win tickets on the radio stations everyday, which I guess wouldn't have been that big of a deal - she could always find someone else to give them too, but it would have taken away from the excitement I expected when she found out I bought them.

I bought the tickets on Feb. 25, and they didn't arrive in my mail box until March 13. That's 16 days for those of you who can't count. 16 days that I had to keep my mouth shut. I couldn't even tell Brent cuz he never would have been able to keep it to himself! In the mean time, about a week before they came in the mail, we got a new substitute mail carrier who can't tell the difference between Bryson, Stromgren and White. I just knew he'd deliver them to one of the neighbors, and when they saw what they were, they'd keep them. So yeah, I was freaking out just a little until they finally arrived in my mail box last Saturday. I couldn't wait any longer - I had to give them to her that day.

She was genuinely surprised when she found the tickets taped to an article about George and Reba in a country music magazine. Seeing the excitement in her face, and receiving the biggest hug I think I've ever gotten made all the planning and worrying worth it! Nothing makes me happier than seeing my little girl happy. Does that make her spoiled, like some people think? Maybe, but if it does, then I guess I'm a little spoiled too! Love you sweetie!!!!!