The Amy Incident, revisited...

I had this adventure the winter before last, and thought I'd post the letter I sent out, here. It's so fun to reread it, so much of it I'd forgotten! I hope you enjoy it too.

Hello, all! I had an incredible experience the other night, and had to share it with you! I had to think, "Who would love to read about this?"...and I thought of each of you specifically...because you are a part of my Amy listening past or present, or have gone to her concerts with me over the years, or have swapped tapes when we were in Youth Group together, or simply know I'm a total freak/fan of hers...lol...so, here is my adventure...ENJOY!

Four nights ago...
My sister Maura got tickets for my sisters and Mom and I to go see Amy Grant at the state theatre in New Brunswick on Sunday night.

The show was really, really awesome...she did an amazing mix of old songs. It was like a "greatest hits" show, not what we'd expected at all. It was every song I'd have ever wanted to hear, and then some. She had her band, and they were all backed by the Manhattan Orchestra...the arrangements were stunning, lush, and the fullest I've ever heard her music live, as you can imagine. We made a total scene with our cheering, woo-hoooing, jumping to our feet to dance/sing/clap/etc...it was a blast. You all would have been proud. We Glynn women have some lungs on us, and collectively, it was massive. We drove several old folks sitting in front and behind us awayyyy...I do believe we were more than they bargained for! Hahaha...Maura even yelled at one point, "We love you Amy!", and Amy responded to her...the theatre was very small, and we were on the floor, great seats...it was just a night of total fun. At the end of the show as I'm putting on my coat, this guy taps me on the shoulder and says, "You seem like a real fan." "Yes, I am...I guess we made a bit of a scene, huh?" "Yeah..." he replies..."It was awesome though. You seemed the most into it... Would you like to meet Amy with me?", and hands me a Meet and Greet pass sticker.
I was stunned, and my entire family was frozen with these looks of utter disbelief on their faces...we all got hysterical laughing when we realized what statues we'd become.

The whole theatre was emptied, except for those of us with stickers on...and we were organized into a few rows up in the front...there were about 20 of us. I was so nervous, had no idea what to expect...and this guy is trying to make conversation with me while we are waiting... and I am tongue tied and palms sweating, heart palpitating. I realize I HAVE to make myself chat with this guy to get my mouth working, and to try and calm down...I was seriously going to have a heart attack from the excitement and stress! LOL I was re-living in my mind the time as a teenager that my best friend Julie Wade and I froze up when Gary and Amy were like 20 feet from us in an empty stadium...they were surveying the incredible venue they'd just played, and we were sneaking back into the empty theatre to use the bathroom while waiting for our ride to arrive... and how I'd always regretted that stupid awe struck moment when we did absolutely nothing, as Amy and Gary walked away hand in hand oblivious to the frozen freaked fans behind them!
LOL So I'm trying to figure out what I'm going to say if I even have the chance, because maybe we're going to stay in our seats and she's going to come out and field some questions from the group and sign autographs, right? In that case I might not get to speak to her at all...so...then we are told that she'll be out momentarily, and we are lined up single file and asked to keep it relatively short when we get to talk to her...that our pictures will be taken if we want (by her assistant, with our cameras), and that she'll sign whatever we have. She'd been up at 4 am for the past two mornings, and had to do a taping of Good Morning America the following morning at dawn...but she wouldn't leave until every person got time with her, so her gal was appealing to our compassion and understanding for her sleep needs. LOL Anyway...the first person in line talked for like 10 minutes, and Amy was totally relaxed and asking her questions, etc...so I knew anything I had to say was going to be much shorter, and that helped calm my nerves.
I was fourth in line, and she came out and it was cool to get to watch her talking with the people before me, it helped me relax because she was really mellow and unintimidating. She was very low-key with the first person, and that made me bummed momentarily, because she didn't seem to be bringing any enthusiasm or energy...but she steadily perked up until it was my turn.
I walked up to her, and she gave me a smile...I stuck out my hand and she stood up a little straighter, like, "Oh, we're going to be formal, are we?!", and shook my hand with a grin on her face. I laughed, I was a nervous wreck, and laughed/said, "Oh, uhhh...can I give you a hug?" She laughed and gave me a big hug...she is the tiniest, scrawniest woman. A serious wafe, it makes her body frame look frail close up. I told her, "I'm the oldest of six daughters in my family." "SIX girls?!" she replies in amazement. "Yeah...we all grew up listening to your music, it was a part of our home, our family...and my sisters and Mom are out in the hall and have given me strict instructions that I had to come in here and "represent"." She laughed, and said, "I'm so sorry I've kept them waiting so long!" I laughed and told her, "No, they are TOTALLY fine with it. They are out there palpitating for me right now! Amy, your music has been part of the soundtrack of our lives, it has been a powerful gift on our faith journey." I started to well up...she put her hand on my arm and held on and said, "Thank you so much for saying that. Wow." I took a deep breath and continued..."My husband and I adopted two children a month ago, they came to us in January." She said, "Whoa, your life changed over night, huh?" "Yes, it did. The first morning they were with us, I am not a morning person, mind you, and it's dawn and we're in the kitchen and I'm desperately watching the coffee pot brew...and one of the children picks up the Songs from the Loft cd from the kitchen counter and asks me if we can listen to it. We ended up starting our first day together dancing in the kitchen, and they now know all the words and ask for it every day. My five year old daughter was quite disgruntled that I wasn't bringing her tonight, and asked me, "Is Amy going to sing "Fire in the room to keep us warm"?" Amy was looking at me intently while I was talking, and I paused here...and I saw the light dawn in her eyes, and we both said, "Mimi's House." (a VERY old song about her great grandmother) She had such a pleased smile about that, and I told her that's Briana's favorite song...along with, "In a little while we'll be with the Father, can't you see Him smile..." that I hear her singing around the house. I told her it felt incredible to be sharing her music with my children, really special.
She signed a great photo for Briana, wrote a cute note to her (Briana, Next time I hope I get to meet you! God bless, Amy Grant), and I had a bunch of cd covers in my pocket of Maura's, and had picked the one I knew was her favorite to get signed too. (Unguarded, the first one she ever heard of Amy's) We got our picture taken, she was warm and very real...and she gave me another hug when I was about to leave, and thanked me again for the kind things I'd said.
I started to walk away, and then turned, and she was looking at me and I said,
"Thanks for the music, Amy.", and she smiled a big smile and said, "You're welcome, Brigid."

I floated out to the lobby where the family was waiting and freaking with suspense...Maura had squirreled her way into the upstairs balcony section (you all would have been proud!) and watched the entire thing...she was beside herself!
I've been dying to tell everyone about this! I waited until Michaela sent me this photo, it was her camera and she went back to college the following day with it! Can you believe this happened?! I am still in shock...it was totally surreal. It was a total terrifying thrill though, and I can honestly say that I'm as star-struck as I was at 17...but now she seems even more amazing if that's possible.
Have you been watching her show? I love it...it makes me cry every darn week though!
By the way...every one of you who were part of my teen years in Youth Group at OLPH were with me all night at that concert, especially when she started the entire show with
"Stay for Awhile..." (My favorite one from high school)
"Snow falls, phone calls, broken hearts...clear summer days...warm and lazy. Long walks, long talks after dark, we vowed we'd never forget...now it's hazy.
Time carries on, I guess it always will. Deep inside my heart, time stands still.
Stay for awhile, oh, it's good to see your smile, and I love your company...stay for awhile, and remember the days gone by, for a moment it can seem, just the way it used to be."
And when she sang "Angels watching over me..." I thought of my T-Glynn cousins and the theatrical production of that song that you all did for us (and captured on video, I do believe) many moons ago in Plainfield!

Okay...I'm totally wiped out, and have to go to bed. I hope you've enjoyed my adventure story...hence forth this will be referred to as The Amy Incident. LOL
Sending many hugs,
Brig