We finally got to go to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Concert this year! I believe it had been a couple years since we had been, so we were really excited. The Grubers had extra tickets, so not only did we get to go, along with George, Nancy, and Karl, but my parents also got to go and we were able to invite my friend, Amy, and her boyfriend, Johnny.
Jason and I drove up to Salt Lake in what we thought was plenty of time, but boy were we rushing! Our plan was to grab a bite to eat, and we thought the City Creek food court would be as good a choice as any, but the lines were ridiculously long! We headed to Kneaders and we were sweating, looking at the clock, hoping to be able to eat and get to the Conference Center in time. The moment we got our food and sat at a table, Amy and Johnny appeared. So lucky for us, that was perfect timing.
After quickly scarfing down our Kneaders dinner, we had to book it to the Conference Center...that is a lot of distance to cover in heels, freezing weather, and a huge crowd. It wasn’t one of those “enjoy the lights at Temple Square” moments. We made it to the Conference Center in time to meet up with the Grubers in line. Luckily, they happened to run into my dad earlier and was able to give him his ticket. My mom was already inside because of a ticket from a friend. Complicated, I know. We finally made it in and we realized our assigned seating section was pretty lame. It was at the front, right next to the wall...so you wouldn’t really get to see a lot. Even the usher lady recommended we look elsewhere for seats (which is funny because we quickly learned the ushers in the other sections were Nazis about only allowing those with assigned tickets in their areas). We were running around trying to figure out where to sit, and losing hope that we might have to return to our assigned section, and have even worse seats because of the time that had gone by. However, I pulled a slick move...there was a group of ladies who had showed their tickets to the ushers and I quickly stepped up behind them and smiled at the usher...as if i was a part of their group. He smiled back and let me pass. Luckily, there was room after the ladies I was following so I could save seats for Jason, Amy, and Johnny. Once I had the seats secured, I waved back to them (they had been looking for small holes to sneak in as well). They were able to get through the ushers by saying, "Oh, my seat/my party is up there." Phew! It all worked out and we had amazing seats.
Okay, so now to the important part of the evening...the actual concert. I was really excited to share this with Amy because she had never been to one before. I had been to several, and it is one of those things that really helps make the Christmas season special for me. The concert was beautiful, as usual, with an awesome set, cool costumes, great dancing, and brilliant music. I have to admit that it wasn’t my favorite Christmas concert I have been to, but it was still really fun and really good.
So, speaking of the Christmas season...this year with Kimberly on a mission, my parents wanted us to feel connected to her in some way, and vice versa. They decided to have us do a 12 Days of Service. Everyone, including Kimberly, was to do 12 things for others, big or small. Jason and I had a great time getting into the Christmas spirit through service. We did a few things together, but also did things separately. We did things like invited Katina over for dinner, invited Karl over for dinner, took homemade rolls and freezer jam to a neighbor, took homemade sugar cookies and a frosting kit to some new neighbors and their kids, donated to a couple of good causes for those in need, lent out our car, etc. You get the idea. It was especially fun taking advantage of the random acts of service that presented themselves throughout the day, like jumping a car or giving someone a ride. There really are lots of opportunities out there if you just open your eyes and look for them. With that comes the need to give a little bit of your time, and that is part of the service in and of itself. It is rarely convenient, so don’t let yourself think, “Oh, I’ll help next time when I have more time.” That “time” will never come. Make the time this time!
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