My Make-A-Wish Fulfilled

I’m sure everyone has heard of the Make-A-Wish foundation that gives kids with life-threatening illnesses a chance to have a dream come true. The wishes often seem to involve taking exotic trips or meeting famous people. While I am certainly not a child (nor am I aware of any life-threatening medical condition), I had a Make-A-Wish moment last night.

Chris and I went to this amazing outdoor amphitheater in Charlotte for the Kenny Chesney / Leann Rimes Poets and Pirates Tour – but really we went just for the Leann Rimes part of it all. OK – I went for the Leann Rimes part and Chris was really just along for the ride. (Our friend Jake, who’s working on making it big in Nashville himself, would cringe if he knew we actually stuck around for the Kenny Chesney part…He and Chris definitely enjoy the classic country more than the mainstream/rock that Chesney produces, but Chris still sang along and had a great time!)

My obsession with Leann Rimes began just six months ago when I was reading my sister’s Fitness magazine. I was completely blown away by her focus on fitness. She runs, does yoga, goes to the gym, eats well, etc. etc. etc. And – she can bench press her own weight (120 lbs.)! I’m so impressed!

I can honestly say that growing up, I was really not a fan of hers. While it was impressive that she was only 13 when she had her first hit single, the song itself, “Blue” kind of annoyed me. Then, I couldn’t believe that she would have the gall to release “How Do I Live” at the same time that Trisha Yearwood did it for the movie Con Air. I have now learned that she actually recorded it first, and at the last minute, the movie producers decided they wanted an older singer who was more recognizable to perform it. Her release of that, incidentally, still holds the record for longest running song on the Billboard Top 100 at 69 weeks – and apparently helped her to win the Billboard’s 1997 Best Vocalist Award (which was a question we missed at Trivia Night a couple weeks ago – I’m sure I would be ousted from the fan club if they knew that!)

Yes – I even joined the fan club. Members have access to behind the scenes photos/videos, her personal blog (which includes video of her talking, so I know she is actually involved in the process at some level), and the possibility of meeting Leann at a concert – which, I got to do!!!!




For each concert venue, they post a Meet and Greet date/time when fan club members can log in to in order to try to get a spot to meet her for that concert (maximum of 20 per show). I was online refreshing the screen for a good ten minutes before the posted time – I actually saw the icon change over, so I’m pretty sure I might have been the first one to log in for the Charlotte venue. Chris can attest to the fact that I was slightly high-strung yesterday in making sure we arrived in plenty of time. On the way, he had to stop by the high school where he’s covering football games on Friday nights to meet the athletic director/coaches/etc. so I definitely had 20 minutes of practiced patience in the car!

After we found our seats, which were five rows behind the VIP boxes, I went over to the side entrance for backstage and waited ever so anxiously for the big moment! The fan club members got to go last (there were also some radio station winners and others, but she only signed things for us).

While it was expectedly short, it was still one of the coolest moments ever! I’ve met a famous singer/author/movie star (Coyote Ugly, anyone? She did all of the vocals for the lead plus made a cameo at the end – but that was still before her revolutionary fitness phase).

The concert itself was awesome! She sang for over an hour and had a good mix of old and new songs. Her voice is just so obviously amazing, but her ability to dance, run, and jump around on stage in huge heels is my next point of awe – I can hardly walk in them let alone move around the way she does.
And, oh yeah, Kenny Chesney was insane! He’s been Entertainer of the Year repeatedly for good reason. It was craziness! The backdrop video screens are completely unbelievable! The whole concert is basically the biggest karaoke you’ve ever seen! The most hilarious part of the night was when Kenny pulled this (maybe 9-year-old) boy, dressed in shorts but no shirt, cowboy boots and cowboy hat up onto stage. The kid danced like mad for a solid three minutes at least – including a spin-on-your-back break dance move that Kenny subsequently tried to imitate. It was so spontaneously funny!

The night was phenomenal! It was pretty much a dream come true. Initially, I hesitated to compare this to a Make-A-Wish situation because I don’t want to disrespect the organization in any way by associating myself with the idea of it all. But then I was reminded of a conversation I had with my friend, Amber, about our adventures here in NC. I commented to her that we were just trying to do as much as we could while we were here since we knew it was going to be for just a short time. As I said that to her that day, I then realized – shouldn’t that be how all of us are living our lives everyday no matter where we are? We are all on Earth for just a short time – we should always make the most of it! Take advantage of any opportunities that come along to live life in new and unexpected ways. As our aforementioned friend, Jake, likes to say: “Get busy livin’, or get busy dyin’!” I kind of like this getting busy with life thing!