Giveaway Winner & Life Lessons

WARNING READERS: This first part is totally NOT teacher related.  I don't typically like to stray from educational posts, but am making an exception today.  If you have children of your own, you might enjoy or relate!    :-)


As I was beginning to plan my summer vacation time awhile back, I asked my daughter to tell me ONE thing she'd REALLY enjoy doing with me this summer.  She's my only daughter in a house full of boys and we just needed some GIRL TIME!  What did she choose?  She wanted to go to her very first concert!  I'm thinking...that sounds like FUN!  It's been awhile since I went to a concert.  Hmmm....Now I remember why I don't go often!  She chose a band I'd never heard of, of course.  But after a little investigating, I decided "How bad could it be?"   I learned some valuable life lessons through this experience.


1.) Don't assume that because YOU don't know who a band is, that the tickets won't be very expensive.  I started planning this adventure months ago, and I almost didn't get tickets to see One Direction. Evidently, this band I'd never heard of is quite the "IN" thing with the teenage girls. The tickets I DID finally get were, well, let's say well over the $75.00 I anticipated spending.  (Try doubling and THEN some, and that was for just ONE ticket)  
2.) I'm pretty sure your hearing CAN suffer some serious damage at a concert...NOT from the actual music, but from 20,000 screaming teenage girls.   And to think I was laughing at the mom sitting close to me for whipping out the ear plugs before the show even started.  She eventually leaned over and handed me some tissue to plug in my ears to help. I must have looked pretty desperate.  :-)
3.) Take plenty of cash inside with you because chances are, you're not getting out of there without a $35 T shirt and $15 rubber bracelets!
4.)  You literally MIGHT go crazy after hearing the same album over and over in your car for the 3 hours there and back. 
5.) It's possible that I can gain some interesting knowledge about things I knew nothing about from my daughter.  I can now name all 5 members of the band, where they're from, when their birthdays are, how they got together, what record label they're with, which have girlfriends, and that the "favorite" one's mom is my age!  (Ouch!)


AND #6 (the most important lesson of all) This entire adventure with my daughter TRULY was priceless.  I kept the moaning and groaning about the money to myself! And yes, I found myself laughing, dancing and singing along with my daughter (even with tissue earplugs) to the lyrics which I knew by heart by the time I got there.  Listening to her giggle, talk about them, and smile for hours on end (even as she fell asleep) and hearing her thousands of "Thank you, thank you, thank you, mom!" "This was the best night ever!" ranks right up there as one of the most memorable things we've done together. AND... I'd do it all again tomorrow!  

NOW for the winner of the 300+Giveaway Celebration!  A BIG HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who played along!  It was so much fun getting to hear about YOU for a change.  I'm so grateful for each of you.  :-)  Rafflecopter has spoken.  Congratulations to Mary Jo Ciaraldi Alexander!  

Last, but not least, don't forget this Saturday is the Blog Hop and Swap!  There are going to be some great topics, ideas, and freebies floating around the blogging world.  Stick around!     

Bananas for quality time with my children,