It’s Good to Take a Break from Yourself

I am not a big music person.  Chris is, so I tend to just listen to whatever he is listening to (mostly because he hijacks the music and I have no choice).  But if I am in the car by myself and actually have the chance to pick my own music without kids or husbands, I will always, always, always choose Kenny Chesney.  My love for him is pure and true.

I think it’s because what he sings about.  I mentioned this on my Instastories last week, but I’ll share it here, too.  If I had the chance to sell everything I owned and move my family to an island, I would do it in a heartbeat.  And I don’t mean like, “Oh, wouldn’t that be fun in an imaginary world…”  I mean, like, I have asked Chris if we could do this several times in our marriage.  I relate to the songs he sings about wanting to just pack up and go, not because I’m unhappy in my own life, but because I think my family would really flourish in that lifestyle.

But, don’t worry.  While Chris indulges me in 99.9% of my requests in life, this one is a hard no for him.  So, here I sit, listening to Kenny Chesney sing songs about giving up the rat race and floating away into the sunset.

For Christmas last year, Chris surprised me with tickets to his concert in Tampa last weekend.  I’m not a concert person usually.  I don’t really like large crowds because I am a little bit claustrophobic.  Sometimes being in large crowds can be hard because I get nervous that I can’t get out.  I can’t tell you how many concerts Chris and I have been to where we worked our way to the front stage, only to have me backpedal us out of there after a few minutes because I was breaking out in cold sweats.  But, for Kenny Chesney, I will concert.  And concert I did!

We left the kids with my mom for the night and drove the hour and half from Orlando to the Raymond James Stadium, and even the car ride was fun with Chris!  We sang every Kenny Chesney song Spotify had and we talked about what it must be like to be on tour for months at a time.  (Miserable, we both decided.)

When we got to the concert, we immediately headed to the beer line because it was so stinking long!  And while we were there, we ran into friends we hadn’t seen in a while and made new ones standing in line, complaining about how long it was taking!  I even got TWO beers – at one time! – which is totally unlike me!  Felt a little badass, actually…  *brushes shoulders off*

And also unlike me, I spent money on concert merchandise!  Which is ridiculously priced and I usually make fun of people wearing concert shirts (along the lines of, “You’re cool, bro…”).  But Chris and I both got them AND coozies for our beer!

By the time the concert was over, I was completely horse from singing every single song at the top of my lungs, which I normally never do in public.  But when in Rome…  We drove the hour and a half home because we wanted to get to the kids early in the morning, and so we got home around two in the morning.  So different from my normal early bedtime.  Even on nights out, we usually are home around 10:00.

Here’s what I learned at the Kenny Chesney concert:  It’s good to take a break from yourself.

It’s good to push yourself outside of your comfort zone.  It’s good to splurge.  It’s good to try new things.  And it’s REALLY good to do those things with your best friend by your side.  Concerts themselves are not ground breaking.  I’m sure many of you reading this are probably confused as to why this concert was a big deal to me.  And while I love me some Kenny Chesney, it wasn’t really the concert that was extraordinary.  It just felt good to be reminded that routines and stability are wonderful foundations for a happy life, but they aren’t what makes life memorable.

What makes life memorable to me is letting my hair down for a night.  For just a few hours to not be a mom, not even to be a wife.  To not be a teacher or a volunteer.  To not be a team mom or a PTA member.  To not be a neighbor or a good friend.  But to just be Katie at a Concert.

That’s a good memory.