Kimberlee K.

So there we were. Dressed up and eating pasta on a shady, breezy patio.

Some of us were sparkling, and all of us were smiling.

We were so excited.

Next to us there was a girl with pretty makeup and jewels glued to her cheeks and around her eyes. And then the radio started playing Taylor Swift.

We walked in heels and skirts and dresses and our curls swished from side to side. A girl stopped us and asked if we were going to the Eras Tour, and she said it was life changing.

As we moved in a slow line of traffic towards the stadium, the sidewalks came alive with color. Heels clicked and feather boas flowed. There were bedazzled jumpsuits and leotards, rhinestone cowboy hats and shirts with lyrics printed across the front.

Every once in a while, the sun would catch on glittery boots, sequined jackets, and carefully applied highlighter. Everybody walked quickly, excitedly, getting closer and closer.

Inside the stadium, wrists rattled with friendship bracelets and selfies were snapped from every angle. Butterfly clips, hair jewels, freshly painted nails, witty dad t-shirts, and mother daughter matching outfits. Compliments abounded, and the women’s bathroom echoed with admiration of the outfits that everyone had methodically picked out.

And you were there!

We bought kettle corn and churros and we took pictures as the last of the golden hour sun set down the side of the stadium, and you kicked. Danced around in celebration of the sugar. Your mom put her hand to her stomach, over the reputation t-shirt that had a snake down the center, and she felt you move.

And then we all started to dance.

And sing.

And we didn’t stop for three hours.

An unbelievable night and a legendary tour. One that will be talked about long after you are born. One that we’ll talk about over and over and over when we’re sitting around the dinner table or on the couch in the living room.

Maybe because you ask about it, or because we’re just in the mood to remember.

Do you remember the girl next to us that couldn’t stop crying?

Do you remember how loud everyone screamed?

She played almost fifty songs!

Do you remember how we excitedly gasped when the popcorn vendor came around the corner?

Do you remember how good the breeze felt?

We all dressed up as a different era and got excited when “our era” came up!

It was so fun.

It was the best.

And you were there!

There in the way I was at my parents’ friends’ weddings, and on trips I don’t remember, and on the couch that record breaking summer when my mom decorated the room with fans to keep us cool.

There in the way you might roll your eyes at or say “barely” in response, but there none the less.

Just like the people we saw sparkling down the sidewalk, moving closer and closer to the stadium, we walk through each day with excited anticipation, knowing we are getting closer and closer to you.

And even though we don’t know your birthday yet, it’s like you’re already here. We talk about you all the time, and you’re already our favorite plus one.

Someday we’ll tell you all about Saturday. When your mom took her shoes off, unable to keep standing in the heeled boots, and when the lights went off and the stadium came alive with color; when we leaned into each other and screamed lyrics that we’ve been singing long before we knew about you, long before we knew that one day we’d get to sing them to you; when we realized that soon, we’ll get to sing them with you.  

Singing Long Live all the mountains we moved, I can’t wait to fight dragons with you.