Phantom of the Opera

 Have you ever had one of those regretful parent moments?  I’m guessing if you’ve been a parent for more than about fifteen minutes you answered “yes” to that question.  Today, I don’t have a tasty new food for you to try but I would like to tell you about one (of my many) regretful parenting moments, and my “recipe” to make up for it….

About five years ago my oldest daughter (oldest daughter) and I attended a wonderful performance of Phantom of the Opera here in Dallas, but I didn’t take my middle daughter (middle daughter)…even though she very much wanted to go.  I reasoned with her that she hadn’t read the book (it’s a homeschool thing), I couldn’t afford another ticket, she was still young and the ever popular….I’d take her next time.    

At the last minute (literally the day of the play) the friends we went with had an extra ticket available, but it wasn’t offered for free.  I went back and forth but ended up leaving her home.  The ticket went unused and we sat with an empty seat next to us, and I knew I should have brought her….but there was the promise of “next time”.  

Little did I know..Phantom of the Opera wasn’t coming back!  That was it…after 25 years on stage they were closing the productions everywhere except New York, London and Paris!  Really?!  How could that be?  Of course, every time I would think or talk about Phantom, my heart filled with regret.

Fast forward to last spring….

I was looking online to see what “cultural” events were in town or coming and low and behold….THERE IT WAS!  A new production of Phantom of the Opera….coming to Dallas…and at an even better venue than before!  Only if you are a parent can you imagine my feeling of excitement.  Of course, the girls were thrilled as well!  It was still several months away so we had plenty of time to plan and save.  

The excitement spread even further when middle daughter told her “BFF” and she was invited and made plans to go with us!  

We waited a couple of months for the tickets to go on sale, but somehow I got an email about advanced ticket purchases…yeah!  We purchased wonderful seats in the Mezzanine…WAY better than the seats the first time we saw it.

middle daughter had a dress but her BFF didn’t…so of course, that mean a day (or 2) of shopping for the perfect outfit and accessories!  middle daughter was able to get something she’s always wanted…elbow length gloves. 

More waiting then….the evening finally arrived!

 As you know, for us a special occasion just isn’t complete without food.  We were able to get a groupon to Simply Fondue only a few miles from the theater.  

The girls and I love going there for chocolate fondue before these kinds of events.  The BFF had never been to a “fancy” place so it was really fun to have her along.    

oldest daughter and I love coffee and since it goes perfectly with chocolate we decided to order some.  We had NO idea they would bring a us a whole French press of our own!  We’re kind of “coffee snobs” so this made our day!  LOVE Simple Fondue!

The venue was beautiful, as were the girls!  

The combination of breath-taking scenery, amazing actors with beautiful singing voices, and live orchestra made the whole production truly spectacular and absolutely unforgettable.  Unfortunately, I have no pictures…they’re funny about that sort of thing. You’ll just have to take my word for it.  

We talked with a close friend who attended a few days before us and he said, “If I had another $XX to buy tickets, I’d go again tomorrow!” Knowing how much the tickets were, I didn’t really think I’d feel that way, but I will tell you I said EXACTLY the same thing as we walked out of the theater!  

Those are some happy faces! 

And I’ll leave you with two things…middle daughter’s quote upon exiting the theater and my thought about it…

“That’s the BEST thing I’ve ever seen!” 

Thank you Lord, for a parent do-over!