How did Taylor Swift infiltrate my craft room you ask? I would love to tell you!

My journey to becoming a Certified Swiftie actually began with the Era’s Tour. I have always been a natural fan girl, and at 51 years of age, I still have a very strong inner teenager. Up until 2023, Taylor Swift was only on the periphery of my pop culture consumption. I was fortunate enough to take my daughter, who was only 7 at the time, to the 1989 tour because I happened to get tickets on a whim.

When the Era’s Tour was announced, I immediately recognized its pop culture significance. My daughter, now 15, saw it too, and we both agreed that we had to go. Emily is my ride-or-die for things like this all the time. I registered for the verified fan presale and kept my fingers crossed, but on the morning the email codes were sent out, I was waitlisted. I broke the news to Emily on the way to school and told her not to lose hope, mostly because I was naive and did not realize the magnitude of the concert's popularity. During our drive, Emily received a text from her best friend Adam, saying that he had received a code for tickets… and my heart sank. I told her she had to go, and if Adam could get her a ticket, she should take it. She did the right thing and protested, saying, “What about you?” To which I replied, like any mother would, “I will be okay, but you… you have to go.” She reluctantly agreed, and I dropped her off at school… and cried on the way home at the thought of missing that experience with her.

Like so many others, Adam did not win the great ticket war, and they did not get tickets. I continued to reassure Emily and told her we would figure something out. On the Wednesday of the Capital One sale, I was chatting with one of my favorite coworkers, who also happens to be a die-hard Swiftie. She told me about the successful ticket-purchasing wizardry that she and her friends had managed to pull off, and I shared the story of my failed ticket attempt and the car ride to school. She asked me if I had a Capital One card, to which I shrugged and said, “No, I don’t,” and she immediately replied, “Well, use mine!”

Next thing I knew, I was maxing out her credit card, setting in motion one of the biggest Christmas miracles this mom has ever pulled off. I managed to keep my accomplishment quiet, only bragging to a few close friends, and on Christmas morning, Emily asked, “How did you do this?”

2022 faded into 2023, which turned out to be a challenging year for me. In April, I was diagnosed with DCIS, an early, noninvasive breast cancer. This was a very scary time for me, and even though my prognosis was excellent, it was the first time I had ever been diagnosed with something this serious. There is a tremendous amount of uncertainty with this type of diagnosis, and I didn’t handle it well. When the Era’s Tour rolled into Detroit in early June, I was still in the figuring-out phase and was an anxious mess. I rallied as much as I could for the show, but I wasn’t my usual adventurous self. As the show unfolded, I was increasingly star-struck. I was simultaneously thrilled with the performance and disappointed that my anxiety was keeping me from being fully present for the experience. I left Ford Field completely enchanted with Taylor Swift. From that moment, I never looked back, immersing myself completely in her music. The deeper I went, the more joy I found. When the Travis Kelce romance hit the news, I was all over that. The Super Bowl? Yep, watched the whole thing for the first time ever. The amount of happiness this newfound obsession brought me could not be understated.

I watched the Era’s Tour movie and gleaned live streams on TikTok and couldn’t suppress the emerging urge to see the Era’s Tour in person as a full-fledged, not-terrified-of-cancer Swiftie. My delusion continued to grow. I registered for Vancouver tickets (the only ones to go on sale after my realization) but was waitlisted. I obsessed over strategies to get tickets to Indianapolis or Toronto. I told anyone who would listen about my plans. Honestly, it was fun to think about and, like so many other aspects of this fandom, brought me considerable happiness daily.

To my amazement, my husband seemed supportive of this pursuit. To be fair, he usually indulges my crazy fan-girl pursuits, but even I knew this one was on a whole new level. He started hearing rumblings about how it was cheaper to see a show in Europe. It’s worth mentioning here that my husband is a natural-born adventurer and often sees possibilities where I don’t. He is also more likely to throw caution to the wind than I am. He also knew that we had been talking about going to Europe with our kids. I chuckled at the suggestion but did start checking ticket prices overseas.

On May 11, my mom died. It wasn’t completely unexpected—she was 86 and had lived a long life—but it was a blow nonetheless. I have an extremely complicated relationship with my siblings, which made things even more difficult. That night, my husband and I went out to have a few drinks and blow off steam. This liquid encouragement combined with a fresh reminder of the briefness of life was enough for us to commit to the crazy idea. Bereavement leave provided the perfect opportunity for us to plan a 14-day extravaganza that included “Night One” of the Era’s Tour in Gelsenkirchen, Germany.

I know how fortunate I am. It is not possible to accurately describe the gratitude I feel for having had this opportunity available to me. It is also impossible to quantify the immeasurable joy, happiness, and healing that seeing the Era’s Tour for a second time as a full-fledged Swiftie brought me. It is something I will remember for the rest of my life.

I continue to marvel at the relatability of Taylor and her music. Her lyrics are remarkable and so easy to internalize, and with that comes comfort. Other songs are just pure joy to sing along with. Lines like “your nemeses will defeat themselves before you get the chance to swing” are pure therapy (don’t even get me started on “Female Rage: The Musical”). Taylor herself is wise beyond her years, and having her music, her interviews, and her fandom is an ace in my back pocket, a friend I can call on no matter what. It is somewhat difficult to explain, but it is exactly what I need at this stage of my life.