I have to preface this post with a declaration that Dave is not perfect, because it will seem like he is here. Ha!

That guy sometimes makes my blood boil. And sometimes I know I drive him nutty with all my crazy ideas. But oh, I adore him. He is protective and thoughtful and good-to-the-core right along with his stubbornness:). And I have to say, he is a pretty outstanding gift-giver.

Back on June 23rd when we hit our 26th anniversary, he totally surprised me with a gift I’ve been giddy about waiting in anticipation for:

Tickets to see Yo-Yo Ma perform in concert.

I was SO excited.

I started taking cello lessons a while back (talked about that back HERE and HERE…I have always loved the cello so I decided I might as well get busy working on learning how to play that thing). So seriously, how thoughtful is that for him to work out a way to see my idol, Yo-Yo Ma in concert?

I couldn’t wait.

And a few weeks ago the time was finally here.

We went on a quick overnight trip to Los Angeles for the concert. Not only did Dave get concert tickets, but he made a reservation for us to go to The Getty museum that afternoon.

He followed me around to all those art pieces as we listened to the audio tour.

Appreciating the two dimensionality of medieval art as well as the amazing architecture of The Getty:

One of my favorite parts was a photography exhibit.

I loved standing in front of these photographs that have had such power to sway public opinion historically:

(That one up there is so interesting to me since it seems that history repeats itself in many ways.)

Loved this guy trying to spin plates which feels like what I do relentlessly every day:

And to think of the people who created these rococo works of art, and the people who had them in their homes.

And the garden!

I know I’m weird, but I think that beautiful dried leaf is just as beautiful in so many ways, as the live ones.

Van Gogh:

So fun to see after our “Immersive Van Gogh” experience last month.

We got yummy food…

Visited Hollywood:

And then gathered with this crowd:

To watch one man on that humongous stage.

Can you even believe that?

Let’s talk for a little bit about Yo-Yo Ma for a second though, because he’s a pretty cool guy.

He is of Chinese decent, born in Paris. His mother was a singer, his father taught music and composed music as well.

Yo-Yo Ma was taught violin first, then switched to the cello when he was 4 years old. Yep, four years old he was already on his second instrument. He quickly became a child prodigy, and he and his family moved to NYC where he eventually attended Juilliard.

He was determined to learn more than music, though, so he attended Harvard as well and took courses in everything he could to expand his mind, from German literature to anthropology.

Also, he had scoliosis. (I need to let Lucy know about that!) He had to have surgery, which put him in a body cast for six months (so probably more intensive than Lucy’s).

Yo-Yo Ma has been married since 1978 and they have two children.

Yep, he’s a pretty cool guy. I was so excited when he played this first:

(my fav)

And then he sat and played for two and a half hours, a little dot on that huge Hollywood Bowl stage, cranking out the most melodic notes from his cello named “Petunia.”

I just sat there mesmerized, in awe of the beauty of sitting and meditating, and in the beauty of my husband who would never chose those things on his own, but who did it for me.

And because he knew I would love it, he loved it too. (I told you he would sound perfect, and really let’s be honest, he very nearly is:)

I am so grateful for him. Oh, we have our moments, that’s for sure. I think we’re both getting more stubborn and feisty, we both sure have our own strong ideas. But sitting there enveloped in all that beauty, all I could feel was the deepest gratitude for him and for “us.” That he’s my number one and I am his, too.

In those podcasts I wrote about back HERE, it talks about how God can be “heard” in music (as well as in art, and holy books of all kinds).

And I heard Him that night as I sat there enveloped in all that beauty.

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8 Comments

  1. Amazing! Happy Anniversary you two 🙂 I had the privilege of watching Yo-Yo Ma perform in Chicago about 15 years ago. What a gifted musician!

  2. Loved this post! I was born in LA and grew up there. I was able to see the Getty when it first opened, probably about 20 years ago. We used to pass it on our way to the temple. Did you know there’s another Getty museum–a Roman villa–in Malibu with lots of incredible antiquities? It’s difficult to reserve but if you could ever get in, you would love it! We took our engagement photos there.

  3. Absolutely love this post! It’s so great to see all this after hearing about it! That Dave is a treasure…and one that his wife deserves!

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