Viva La Vida

It has been an amazing summer, filled with family, adventures,  fishing and nature.  We've hit 7 states.  Said good-bye to my grandfather.  Enjoyed Colorado and Michigan family members.  While it's been a whirlwind, it has totally been worth it.  However, there was one more thing on the calendar to do for me that had been booked for at least 3 months.   That was a concert with Coldplay. 

When some people found out I would be going to a concert without my wife, they would sometimes ask, "well, what does she get to do if you're the one going to a concert?"  I typically had two reactions:  One was of guilt, thinking that 'you're right, she should go do something.  She totally deserves it.'  The second was of frustration.  Of course I asked if she wanted to go to the concert, of course I asked her what she would like to do either by herself or with others in order to have an equitable experience, which she decided not to do despite my insistence.  I was frustrated, not with my sweet, kind, tender wife, but with those who seem to think that this was purely me taking advantage of her in some way.  I talked to Debbie about the reactions and she, in her angelic way, was frustrated too.  " I mean, I love him and want his dreams to come true, why does it have to be '"equal'"?"  This was her reaction to letting me go to Alaska for fishing as well (post coming later on that trip).  I'm not sure how to communicate in a simple blog post how lucky of a guy I really am to have a sweet wife who is willing to let me go to Alaska or go to a concert with my old missionary companion.  I would have loved to have gone with her, but she didn't want to go but didn't keep me from having a concert experience of a lifetime.  Now, if I was going out to concerts every weekend, going fishing on the weekends I don't have concerts, then I definitely would deserve the feedback!  I love my Debbie with all of my heart and want her to feel loved as much as I do.  I'm sure I fall short at times, but I want her to be the happiest wife ever!  Ok, enough of my guilt driven rant.

Onto the concert!I have recently found out that my Missionary Training Center (MTC) missionary companion lives in Orem, UT, just 20 minutes away.  We hadn't been in contact for almost 16 years. We were the best of friends during the mission but we lost contact.  Anyway, I had asked if Debbie was interested in going to the Coldplay concert, which she wasn't (not a fan of loud music) and when I found out that my old companion loved concerts, I asked if I could go with him and Debbie said yes!  She's so awesome!  So we started making plans.  We had to wait 3 months, but it was soooo worth it.  Not only was the music phenomenal and they played everything  I wanted to hear, it was a visually stunning performance.  Coordinated wristband lights, lasers, artistic imagery, all coordinated into one amazing retinal experience.  I've only been to a handful of concerts in my day (like 4 and only one that was great, which was Billy Joel), but this one tops them all.  It was fantastic.  Here are some videos  of the experience.  Warning!  Some of them may cause seizures due to the laser lights!  :)