Never Forget

Today my mom told me that my cousin's daughter, who will be 13 in a week, cried herself to sleep the other night. My mom said when my cousin told her, my mom of course asked "Why...what happened?!"  My cousin informed my mom "Well, some of her friends were going to the Katy Perry concert..." and the moment my mom told me that I BURSTED OUT LAUGHING. Laughter racked my body and I had to physically put my hand over my mouth in order to contain my giggles. Not because of people attending a Katy Perry concert (I love pop music) but because I knew where this story was going.

My mom asks "What? Why are you laughing?"

Me: "Oh, because I soooo know how she feels because I DISTINCTLY recall you forbidding me from attending the Blonde Ambition tour and I can remember the ferocious tantrum I threw. I recall physically throwing myself on the floor in agony." [note, this happened several months before I turned 13]

Mom: "Really? I let you go, didn't I?"

Me: "Oh you did no such thing!"

Mom: "Oh my...you won't be happy to hear what I told your cousin then..."

Me: "Did you tell her to let her go?!"

Mom: "Yes...I did...I said 'Come on...lighten up!' Oh no...do you hate me? I don't remember you throwing a tantrum..."

Me: "Of course you don't remember. To you it was just a blip on your parenting radar. To me, and at that time in my life, it was LIFE-ALTERING with enormous implications."

Several years after this "life-altering" experience, I recall seeing a video of the Blonde Ambition tour and thinking "Whoooaaaa, my parents were totally right to not let me go...I would have been so confused." I'm not sure whether or not my cousin watched YouTube videos of Katy Perry's tour or not, but I'm secretly glad I'm not the only 13 year old who was banned from going to a concert.