Two Things Off the Old Bucket List. Check. Check.

Dixie Chicks at Fiddler's Green, Denver, Sept 1 2016

​September was a busy month, which should be obvious since it’s taken me a month to post about it. I have a new book coming out in January 2017 and the vast majority of the month of September was spent typing furiously. That, of course, came after getting married in July, honeymooning into August and then flying out to Georgia for a week….oh yeah, and then school started.
 
But I digress…
 
Besides all of that craziness, I got to check two things off my bucket list, making September a spectacularly productive month on a whole lot of fronts. First item on my bucket list happened September 1 when I FINALLY got to see the Dixie Chicks in concert. I’ve been waiting ten years to see them. Back in 2006, they were performing near Seattle and I wanted to go see them so badly BUT I was due to give birth to my first child only a few days after the concert and I just wasn’t up to it. So, last year, by some miracle, I noticed that they were going on tour again. My soon-to-be husband bought me tickets, cementing his position as best guy EVER!
 
It was magical. The Chicks opened up with an homage to Prince, and later performed their version of Nothing Compares 2 U in front of a blazing purple backdrop. They did a fun version of a song by Beyonce and, of course, a whole lot of their own numbers. My favorite was Top of the World, which has always been one of my favorite songs and made me cry (as it always does). It inspired me to pick up my ukulele, learn the song and even record a video for my writing group (Monday inspiration).
 
We got home late late late and I was nearly dead the next day, but since the second item on my bucket list was happening that afternoon, no time for exhaustion.
 
After lunch on September 2, my husband and I made our way to the University of Colorado – Boulder campus to attend our second John Paul Stevens Lecture. Two years ago we got to see Associate Justice Antonin Scalia speak. As a constitutional law junkie, this lecture series provokes squeals of excitement from me (I’m glad my husband is used to my weirdness). So, seeing Scalia was awesome, but this year’s speaker had me nearly hyperventilating. I saw the announcement when we were in Georgia and immediately sat in the parking lot RSVP’ing to ensure we’d get seats. And I’m glad I did, as the event sold out very quickly.
 
But again, I digress…
 
On September 2, I sat in a packed hall and listened with rapt attention and tears in my eyes while Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor spoke eloquently about her work on the Supreme Court and her devotion to the practice of law. This in and of itself would have been enough to make me happy as a clam. But much to my surprise, Sotomayor actually likes to walk among the crowd as she speaks, much to the chagrin of the half dozen federal marshals assigned to protect her. So, on that balmy day in September, I was literally two feet away from a woman who I admire deeply and who I consider one of the most important people in our country. If you’ve never heard me go on about her book, My Beloved World, you just haven’t been hanging around me enough. You should really go and pick it up right now and read it.
 
And there you have it folks. Check, check. 2016 is turning out to be one of the most eventful and memorable of my life. My son turns 10 this year. I got married. I went to Europe for the first time. I published a book. I saw the Dixie Chicks. AND I was arm’s length from Sonia Sotomayor.
 
Life is good and I am thankful. 

---

Sonia Sotomayor, CU-Boulder, John Paul Stevens Lecture, Sept 2016