My Happy Place and a sorta Summer 'Gift of the Magi'.

Therapeutically, we are often told to, "Go to your happy place". Everyone needs a "happy place".
For some, that place is hiking in the mountains, or sitting in a football stand cheering as your team runs on to the field or standing on a sandy shore listening to the crash of waves. It's different for everyone.
It's a place where you just...feel like you... a happy you. Know what I mean?

  My "happy place" is being outside, listening to live-music I love, sitting next to someone who "gets" me.

The venue doesn't really matter, although Red Butte Gardens Ampitheater is phenomenal, it's the breezes, and the black outlines of surrounding trees as darkness settles, dragonflies cruising over-head, clouds rolling by. It's the connection you feel with the artist who has traveled in a bus, albeit a very luxurious bus, overnight to come and entertain you, to share some of their most poignant thoughts with you in music. Heck, the thoughts don't even have to be poignant, I love a story about a honkeytonk  just as much as a sad tale of lost love.
I decided last Winter, that I needed to go to my happy place more often. I'm at an age and a place in my life where I am able to do more things for ME and I decided that it was time for me to start doing just that.
I watched carefully for the announcement of Red Butte's Summer concert schedule, bought a membership to get a leg up on other ticket purchasers and on the opening day, excitedly, bought 2 tickets to two shows: Mary Chapin Carpenter, a favorite of my mine and Shan's, and The Prairie Home Companion. Whoohoo!!
To make a long story short, at the end of May, I thought to myself  "Look at those tickets and see what the dates are for the concerts."
The tickets were gone. I looked in each of the three specific places where I woud have put them and they were not there. One of the places I had recently organized and I was afraid the tickets may have accidently ended up with the "throw-aways". Another place they could/should have been is where I keep the weekly grocery ads and they could have been gathered up to make room for the new ads and again, gone to the recycling bin.
Needless to say, I was devastated. The tickets were expensive and I also had the niggling, if irrational, feeling of, "Well, this is what happens when you selfishly spend money on silly things you love.." I know I am not alone on this one. Alot of us, especially moms of my age, just arent used to giving ourselves a treat.
I called Shan, sobbing into the phone, "I've lost the tickets." She could barely understand me as I was crying harder than I can remember allowing myself for a long, long time. She calmed me with a sympathetic ear asking me if maybe they could be replaced, but I knew that was impossible aside from buying more, all sales final, etc...
A couple of days later, she called to tell me that, "a friend told her that the things they send out aren't the actual tickets. You have to pick the actual tickets up with your i.d. at the ticket box previous to the concert."
"Are you sure!"
"Yes! that's what my friend said!"
I excitedly called the ticket office and, HALLELUJIA, it was true!!
NOW, for the Gift of the Magi part... I am crying as I write this...
The day after my hysterical phone call, Shan and Andrew put their heads together and decided that they would replace my Mary C.C. tickets, giving them to me for my birthday. They are a young couple without much money, but they wanted to sacrifice to make me happy, because they love me.
After buying the tickets and asking how soon they would get there, Shannon, not "her friend" was told it is a voucher that is mailed and that you pick them up with your I.D.
So, now Shan and Andrew were the proud owners of two expensive tickets AND my own two tickets were waiting for me to pick up them up.
I didn't know any of this, until she told me the story as we were driving on our way to the concert. Thankfully, they were able to sell their tickets.
Darling Shannon and Andrew, that was one of the nicest things anyone has done for me. Thank you for being so generous and caring for your old mom! I love you.

The evening was sublime and I can't wait for Prairie Home Companion!