Lesson 799: Stadium

Hello, Readers.

Almost a week has passed 

since our Taylor Swift Eras tour concert

in Pittsburgh (night 2).

We still aren't over it.

In fact,

I hung our tour jackets in our entryway,

so we can see them every time we walk into 

the Lamp Post.

Well--our three jackets

and my donkey bag from the Farm Animal Sanctuary,

to be exact.

                                                                                      

They are reminders of the most spectacular events

of the summer--

and we haven't even it the Fourth of July yet!

73,117 Swifties

and thousands more outside the stadium

and in boats on the river,

greeted Taylor with a home-state welcome.

Taylor Swift is originally from Reading, PA.

Acrisure Stadium,

home of the Pittsburgh Steelers,

usually glows gold.

When the Swifties took it over,

it glowed pink--

and actually sparkled.

Swifties came dressed to the nines

in sparkles,

sequins,

and fringe.

The stadium 

and its enormity,

is what still sits with me one week later--

73,000 people just like me 

and my gals.

The girl in the black hat is Kaley,

Ellen's college roommate.

The tall gal is Maddie,

a high school bestie

and Swiftie kindred spirit.

No girl was shy on sparkle.

The largest demographic 

of my bracelet-wearing concert goers

were the 20-something females.

There were lots of moms,

and we were thrilled to watch 

the next-gen fans--

little gals 10 years old and under.

Everyone sang 

every word,

to every

single

song.

44 of them

performed right in a row.

Everything about the Eras Tour was impressive.

The fans were outstanding--

patient, 

compliant,

and 100% absorbed in the performance.

Taylor had herself a captive audience.

Ellen got the black hoodie

and Natalie got this t-shirt.

Here she is at the Erie Zoo,

wearing it days after the concert.

She wears it.

We wash it.

She finds it and puts it on again.

We've been working through the post-tour hangover.

Swifties do not drink to excess--

it would dull our sparkle.

The flatness we experienced 

is the I can't believe it's over feeling.

We scroll social media

and share photos and videos

from the night.

Eloise has become very interested

in Taylor Swift's songwriting.

She is a masterful lyricist.

Taylor reminds me of Dolly Parton

when she speaks of her songwriting.

Here's what Taylor has to say:

Taylor Swift on songwriting CLICK HERE

And here's Dolly--

I highly recommend the book, too,

especially in audio book format

as Dolly narrates it.

CLICK HERE

The positive energy in Pittsburgh that night

is something that 

I'll never

ever 

forget.

When I looked up the word stadium,

as I often do before I write a blog,

I had forgotten about the second definition--

one from the sciences:

(biology) stadium: a life stage of an organism. (pathology) stage; phase.

The Lamp Posters are in the phase

of high school sports.

Sam is playing Junior Legion baseball this summer,

and his friends showed up to watch Sam's

team pull off a win against a very good Millcreek team.

We are also in the stage of 

saving the bees and butterflies.

I even have my parents expanding 

their butterfly garden.

The Lamp Posters are in the full summer phase,

with the cabin as the top place to visit.

If I had any type of musical ability

I'd be a songteller

like Dolly and Taylor.

But music APPRECIATION

is the only thing the Good Lord gave me,

so my songs are in the form 

of short,

centered paragraphs,

interspersed with snapshots.

Have a great weekend!

Eloise