Why I Will Never Regret Spending $1,000 on a Concert

If Paul McCartney comes to town, spend the money and go

In early 2016 I heard that Paul McCartney was coming to Fresno. I have lived in the Fresno area most of my life, and we rarely get concerts of this caliber. When I heard the date of the show, April 13th, I knew we had to go.

My husband, Patrick, turned 49 on April 13, 2016. Patrick was a bit of a miser, and I knew better than to ask his opinion on whether I should spend a boatload of money on concert tickets. I decided I would ask for forgiveness instead of permission.

I was too excited to wait to surprise him, so this is how I told him:

After the initial splurge, I splurged again and bought two more tickets for our daughters. We all loved the Beatles, and I wanted to experience this together.

We made plans for our older daughter, Sierra, to be home from college for the concert. We went out to dinner and had a great time.

When we got to the concert, I took a photo of the three of them and then we got in line. The picture below is my favorite picture of Patrick and the girls. I don’t think any of us put a lot of thought into it, but it would turn out to be the last picture they ever took with him.

Even though we had to wait, we were happy to be there, and Patrick, as usual, was clowning around.

We had to wait a while for Sir McCartney to take the stage. Patrick was annoyed with the wait and threatened to leave. Luckily I was able to convince him to stay. The concert was by far the best I have ever attended. Patrick and the girls agreed.

We went home basking in the fun of the shared experience. I think this memory would be important no matter what. I remember it so vividly because it was one of the last memories of my husband of nearly 24 years.

A week later, Patrick went for an early morning bike ride and never returned. As we dealt with the uncertainty and trauma of that day, we were grateful that we had such a wonderful memory.

Later in the day, it occurred to me to look at the videos he had been making on his computer. He played the banjo, and he had been recording himself all week. I found a short recording of him playing Blackbird. I watched it, and I like to think of it as a final love letter to us. By the end of the night, the video was playing on the evening news as they reported the collision that took Patrick’s life.

My takeaway from this is never to pass up an opportunity like this. If you can afford to splurge on a unique experience, do it. If you are enjoying an evening, don’t forget to take pictures. Always say I love you. I am so grateful that I did all these things, and now I can share memories.