Dreams Come True

Way back in October of last year, the PBS special on Hamilton aired, and it once again sparked the feeling that I had to see the musical in person.  So, on a whim, I decided to see what tickets were going for in Chicago in the spring.  To my amazement, there were tickets for $80! Yes, $80! Not $800.  Well that price range was totally doable.  Knowing that probably everybody and their mother was looking at those tickets as well, I quick called my mom and asked if we might convince her to come watch the kids so we could get away for the night and if so could she please give us a date ASAP so we could snag these tickets.  Within a day, she confirmed a date and we purchased our tickets.  Eek! I could hardly believe it! I may or may not have triple checked to make sure they really were legit and we weren't just out the money and set up for serious disappointment.  I was going to be 35 weeks pregnant, so maybe not the most comfortable time to sit through a 3 hour musical, but it would be worth it!

Friends have since told me how hard it is to find those $80 tickets and I really think it was a tiny miracle, another little stepping stone of joy to help guide me through the grief.  As trivial as it sounds, it was an important thing for me as I lay in the hospital bed and imagined the rest of my life stretched before me without my baby to think "In 2 weeks I have a girls trip, in 3 months we will go to Hamilton."  This is in no way to diminish the power of the Savior to sooth my aching heart or to say these things make up for the loss, but the little things like this, were the stepping stones that helped me cross the days when grief felt endless.  The Lord is kind.

After 6 months of waiting, we finally made it to April 12!

We stayed in the most hipster hotel: complete with actual keys and this hilariously awesome door sign.  But it was really charming too, and a really great location.

 When we bought the tickets, we also made a reservation for Frontera Grill, a Mexican restaurant we have been dying to try for years.  When I wait so long for something, sometimes I worry that it won't live up to the expectations, but this really did.  The guacamole-oh the guacamole! Everything else was perfectly excellent.  We are already scheming for when we can get back there.

 And then the main event! Oh my.  There are no words.  Hamilton earns every bit of hype it gets and then some.  Even though I have listened to the soundtrack so much that I know every word (it is really motivating for running), I laughed, and cried, and sat on the edge of my seat the whole time (and not just because we were sitting in the balcony because, $80 seats).  We couldn't stop talking about it that night and the next day.

 We ended our little overnight with a day in Chicago enjoying the Field Museum without kids and a few other favorite sites.  I value all that Spencer is as my husband, partner, co-parent, and getting away is so nice to enjoy being friends without any other roles interfering.  Among the many other things, I'm pretty happy I found a guy who enjoys eating really delicious Mexican food and historical hip-hop musicals with me.  💕