She had waited an entire year for this moment. She couldn’t stop watching the stage for Taylor Swift to make her grand entrance. I couldn’t stop watching her, trying to soak up all the joy and bliss she was so easily radiating from not just her face, but her entire body.
She held her hands to her heart, watching in wonder. I knew right away that this moment was unlike any other we’d experienced together. I knew right away that this night, this magic, would stay imprinted on our minds and hearts like so many I’d had the privilege to experience with my own mother.
In a stadium full of over 69,000 people, together, we were experiencing an incomparable mother-daughter moment.
When you no longer have a mother to create new memories with, the ones you make with your own children feel a little more sentimental. They hit with a little more intensity and feel a little more delicate. You soak them up deeper, because you’ve experienced the fragility of life and the quickness of time.
As Taylor appeared on stage my daughter’s smile turned to quickly flowing tears– the beautiful kind. The kind that symbolizes amazement and appreciation. The kind that showcases a heart that’s had a dream fulfilled– and I get to witness it. The two of us, side-by-side, together in this moment.
My tears lasted longer than hers. In fact, they came and went through the entire evening. I watched my sweet girl more than Taylor and the spectacular show that had the crowd mesmerized. I stared in awe of her happiness and this moment. I watched knowing I’d never forget it all, and praying she wouldn’t either.
That one day, when she’s collecting old memories in reminiscence, this is one of them– her and I, together.
As we walked out of the stadium, her hand in mine, I took a deep breath, savoring the impact of this night. Someday, she’ll be the one watching her own child’s dreams take shape, and hopefully she’ll remember how it felt to be here with me, wrapped in the magic of music, memories, and love.
This night was hers to treasure, but it was also mine—a reminder that in each moment I spend with her, my own mother’s love lives on, passed gently from my heart to hers, like a melody that never fades.
And one day, hopefully decades away from now, when I’m no longer here to witness her dreams unfold, she’ll have this—my unwavering motherly love, forever lighting up the moments that mean the most– not in person, but in a memory. This memory.
