The Restoration Tour

Chicago is not only one of our favorite cities, it’s also one of my wife’s favorite musicals.  While I will readily admit that it was not only not one of my favorites, but one that I really disliked for a long time, I have come around to it over the years.  I still don’t like the storyline, but watching my wife dance around the kitchen while she cooks and listens to the soundtrack is one of life’s true pleasures.

For a long time in our marriage, I didn’t share my wife’s love of the theater and of musical productions.  I tolerated her buying soundtracks and I listened to her tell me that she wanted to go see productions onstage, but never took it seriously or ever really considered going to plays.  I didn’t see it as something that was worth spending the money on, so I just avoided it and she never pushed.

She has pretty much always been willing to try to let me get to do the things that I like, even when she has no interest in them.  Sometimes she has gone with me and learned to participate in some of my hobbies like golf or fishing, and other times she has just encouraged me to go because she knows they are things that I like to do.  I have been the more selfish person in the earlier years of our marriage, and if I didn’t want to do something, it pretty much wasn’t going to happen.

When we moved downtown, we were very close to the theaters and would always walk by the posters for the upcoming productions.  Around the time that we got back together, our little theater was putting on Cats and my wife really wanted to go.  I wasn’t really interested, but part of our new relationship was trying to be unselfish and giving her what she wanted and needed, so I was willing.

I procrastinated buying the tickets so badly that when we finally went, it was to the very last show and we could only get standing room tickets.  Despite my blowing it with not getting us seats, she still loved the play, and it really affected me to see the way her face lit up and how much she enjoyed the experience.  It was our first time to the theater together, but it wouldn’t be our last.

When December came, we planned to go to the production of Miracle on 34th Street.  Once again, I put it off and put it off until I finally discovered that there were no more shows that had two seats together left for sale.  We weren’t going to go and not sit together, so we ended up missing it altogether.

I knew that they were putting on Chicago in April of 2011 and after these two disappointments with trying to get tickets at the last minute, I knew I couldn’t take the chance with Chicago.  I went to the box office before Christmas and bought the tickets and gave them to my wife for a 12 days gift.  On the one hand, it was somewhat lame in that she got them for Christmas, but the play wasn’t for four months.  On the other hand, it showed her that I realized how important it was to her and that I was making it a priority to make sure that she got to go and there was no worry or stress over tickets or seats.

Not only did she get to see Chicago and loved it, but we have since made it to a number of productions and it has become something that we both enjoy and look forward to. I bought her a Chicago poster that was signed by the entire cast and now hangs on the wall in our loft.  I gave her something you can’t buy, and that is the gift of fulfilling one of her wishes and desires.