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When my sister and I were much much younger, our parents arranged for us to stay the night with a relative. Mom had surprised Dad with tickets to a Neil Diamond concert and booked a room for them to stay overnight at a hotel near the concert venue. Neil Diamond was one of her favorite singers ever. She also laid out an outfit for Dad to wear, which she never ever did. Dad was a bit taken aback, but he put it on anyway.
At the concert, when Neil Diamond stepped out on stage, Dad realized right away why Mom had picked out clothes for him - he was wearing the same outfit as Neil Diamond! I can only imagine how hard my parents started laughing at that moment. How very clever of Mom! I'd pay $100 to have seen the look on my dad's face when he made the connection! This has always been one of my favorite stories, and it's just one of the many memories of Mom that Dad will always treasure.
Most of what I do is connected in one way or another to my mom, and for my dad's birthday one year, my sister and I bought the three of us tickets to a Neil Diamond concert at that same venue. We knew Dad would love it - he doesn't go to concerts very often - and I loved seeing one of my mom's favorite singers live. I felt like a part of her was with us that night. We even played a Neil Diamond song at her funeral - I know she would've liked that.
Oh my goodness, what a beautiful post and what a neato mom (and dad). I love that story and that you took your dad to the concert years later. I would have been so emotional even as I rocked out. Heck, I'm emotional reading this post. Wow, I have no stories that relate, which makes your words all the more special. Thanks for sharing. I bet your kids will telling mom and dad stories when they're your age.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Robyn! :D I think we were all emotional that night. The thing that's really cool about the three of us is that we feel we can be open and honest about our shared pain. As a teenager, the fact that our dad listened to us and encouraged us to talk about our mom was what kept us going. I wish I could remember which song we played at her funeral - we might have played more than one. Maybe my dad will remember. I've blocked most of that day out. I was just kind of there.
DeleteI hope my kids will tell mom and dad stories, lol. Like, "Remember that time Mom and Dad went to Vegas and Mom came home with a Hello Kitty tattoo?" (True story, lol!)
Neil Diamond is awesome! I really enjoyed reading this because I am incredibly close to my parents as well. Thanks for posting Jennifer!
ReplyDeleteI agree - love him! I think we're really lucky to be close to our parents. I did go through that teenage rebellion thing a bit with my dad, but once I had kids, we became really close again. Plus, when I was a teenager, I pushed every single person in my life away out of grief. I didn't want to lose anyone else. Thanks for stopping by, Think! :D
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