Amazing (a.k.a. Under the Whale with Sir Elton John)
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Last night. We walk to the Museum. The Museum. Our Museum. The American Museum of Natural History. The magical place where Husband and I celebrated our wedding almost six years ago. The magical place where our little girls run and roam. We head to the annual Museum Gala. Husband fiddles with Hipstamatic, a new iPhone camera app. Witness the results. Pretty amazing, no?
The affair is a black tie beauty. Handsome Husband dons his tux. I slip into a not-so-little black dress. Among the dinosaurs, we mingle with Mom and Sister I and several of Mom’s friends. And then we find our table. Under the big blue whale. The whale that inspired me as a little girl. The whale that inspires me as a big girl. We watch people float to their seats in the grand and glowing room. We recognize some faces: Tom Brokaw, Meg Ryan, Tina Fey, Jimmy Fallon, John McEnroe, Gayle King, Brian Williams, Steve Martin, Alec Baldwin. Oh, and Sir Elton John.
Surreptitiously, Husband snaps a few shots of the scene. Including one of his beaming wife. I think this one is right in the middle of Elton John’s amazing performance. Talk about talent. Talk about inspiration. I was not the only one overcome by something huge, and hard to articulate. The baby girl inside me bogeyed like never before. Under the table, I clutched my belly, feeling her move. My tiny dancer. The real reason for that grin.
At the end of the night, as we walk out, we stop and behold the gorgeous origami Christmas tree. Another thing I treasured as a little girl. Another image that inspires.
I wait as Husband retrieves our coats. He captures another shot of yours truly, belly and all.
On the walk home, I attempt a photo of myself and my latest splurge: The camel maternity coat that will keep me cozy this winter.
In case you don’t believe me, here he is. The man himself.
Husband, sweet man, lets me sleep in this morning. I wake up with just a few minutes to dress before racing Toddler off to school. In her classroom, I kiss her and whisper goodbye. In the hallway, I study her class’s latest Thanksgiving-themed art. Apparently, each kid was asked what he/she is thankful for.
Toddler’s reply? I am thankful for my Mommy’s hugs. Ah, the exquisite power of words.
Last year was about Dave Matthews and white wine and late night fries. Last night was not so wild. But it was equally amazing. An amazing night. And this, its aftermath? An amazing morning. Here I sit. Alone. Alert. Aware of something big: Life can be truly amazing sometimes.
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Describe a recent amazing moment. Are you an Elton John fan? Are you put off by the blatant name-dropping in this post? Have you been back to visit the place you celebrated your wedding or other big life events? Have you stumbled upon words from your kids or other loved ones that have brought you immense and immediate joy?
Everyone struggles and...
hold me closer tiny dancer…
He played that song. Guess what word I’d use to describe his performance of it? Yup. Amazing
(This always makes me smile because someone I know thought – for years and years – that he was signing “Hold me closer, Tony Danza!”)
ALL TIME favorite song since i was a little one.
magical.
i am unbelievably envious but LOVE hearing stories from friends who have seen him live.
xo!
I have a lot of Elton John memories but one in particular stands out. It is May 1989 and I am at the fraternity house. Must be well after midnight and there is still over a 100 of us hanging out. The last men and women to still hang on to the remnants of a great party.
Don’t know how or why but we form a circle and start singing Your Song. We finish singing and the girl next to me looks up at me with deep brown eyes and lays one hell of a kiss upon my lips. It is completely unexpected. She smiles, giggles once and dances off into the darkness.
Don’t know her name, didn’t get a telephone number but I did get a kiss….
I am glad you had so much fun at one of your favorite places. Missed you at my little party, Elton could’ve come, I would have turned off my playlist and we have a piano…We had fun too despite my lack of enthusiasm and I mentioned our email exchange in my recap.
1) You have such a cute bump!
2) Toddler’s thanksgiving sentiment is so sweet, made me teary.
3) What an amazing night!
This sounds amazing! I too grew up totally awed by that whale. There’s something magical about that hall in general, no matter what your age. The scale of it, the dim light, and such a huge thing suspended in the air… NY has the best museums on earth, no doubt about it.
I’ve seen Elton John live in concert and he is amazing. His performance is seamless, an experience I won’t ever forget. Glad you had a wonderful time.
Wow! It looks like a fabulous evening! I would love to see Elton John in concert, especially in an intimate setting. What a treat!
Looks like a very magical evening! And you look beautiful, too. That coat is great!
A recent amazing moment, for me, would definitely be meeting my teen idols last weekend. After more than a decade of listening to Hanson, my favorite band, and attending almost a dozen shows, etc., my sister and I finally got to speak with them and shake their hands. It was exciting, scary, awesome — and far from disappointing, as I’d feared. You never know when you meet those you look up to… sometimes they’re not as great as we’d like.