Smith Family Weblog

For months, Ava has been asking to see Taylor Swift in concert, and for months–while the Red album blared in the background–I have told her she’s way too young for such business.

On Wednesday night, though, our neighbors said that they took their daughter a couple of years ago, and found a majority of the crowd was Ava’s age. At that point, Bryan admitted to having looked for tickets earlier in the week, finding only singles left.

The next morning, I was still telling myself that it was perfectly fine to say no to such ridiculousness, but by 9 AM, I was looking for at least a couple of seats together. I did not have any luck through the concert promoter, so at Katie’s suggestion, I bought three tickets from a ticket broker. (Because, of course, if eight is too young for a concert, five surely isn’t…?)

We surprised the girls with the news at Katie’s house on Thursday evening. I think it took a little while for it to sink in, but Ava was very excited come that night.

We left home after work on Friday, driving to downtown Kansas City. As we waited in line for soft pretzels, Ava asked that I draw the number 13 on her hand. She said that Taylor had a lucky 13 on her hand for every show, and sure enough, every girl in my line of sight at the concert had the same.

The opening act was someone that I had never heard of, but when Ava saw him, she said, “It’s Ed Sheeran. OMG, MOM!” Apparently the other 13,999 people in the Sprint Center knew him, too, because the crowd came alive.

When Taylor Swift took the stage, Ava was blown away. At this moment, I was so grateful that I had decided to take her. To see her reaction made it worth every penny. She was completely mesmerized.

She sang along to every song, often holding a homemade sign above her head. It said, among other things, “You inspire me” and “Find us online at Smith Family Weblog.”

This was easily one of the largest shows that I’ve ever been to, and definitely the one with the most costume changes. That’s probably what held Olivia’s interest the most. That, and the pyrotechnics…

Well it might not have been exactly my scene, it was pretty incredible to see how much fun Ava and Olivia had. It was certainly a glimpse into the great things yet to come as these two little girls grow up.