Amy, Michael, My Shirt, and Stupid Things I've Said

I guess I'm a loser for not blogging about Sunday night's Amy Grant/Michael W. Smith show until now. It was awesome - don't assume that just because I'm a lazy blogger I didn't enjoy myself.

One minute I'm 12 years old, watching Amy Grant videos in my VCR. The next thing I know, I'm eating a salad across from her as she talks to me with only one side of her hair done. One minute, I'm slapping Michael W. Smith posters on my wall and swooning over him. The next thing I know, I'm introducing him to my husband.  It's a crazy world, isn't it? That was Sunday night. That's my take on it. I've met both of them but Sunday night was the first time I really thought to myself, "Gosh, this is weird." Weird in a GOOD way, but still...weird.

What do famous people eat for dinner? Thanksgiving food. Turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, green beans, pie... Yup, that's what we had. The salad I mentioned - KILLER salad dressing. Raspberry? Something with fruit in it. Who do you ask for a recipe in a green room? Nobody. A bummer, because that salad dressing was the bomb. I wish I could get the recipe, make it for my friends and say, "Oh yes, this is my Amy Grant Michael W. Smith Green Room Recipe. You like?"

Anyway, back to Amy and Michael. I stared at both of them in the green room and had no idea who either of them were. I KNOW, RIGHT?!? Colleen, the merchandise girl (for lack of a more formal title) had to introduce me to them before I realized who they were. Now that's weird because I've been staring at these people for 20 years. At one time in my life, my bedroom wall was completely blocked by posters. I blame it on the fact that I was in the emergency room until 6:30 am Saturday morning, or maybe I was just manic. I didn't talk to Michael that much at dinner. He was engrossed in conversation with two other band mates and I didn't want to go over and start sounding the way I felt, which was like a middle school-age girl with braces. Amy came in, Colleen the Merchandise Girl introduced us (for about the 10th time in my life, but I still said "nice to meet you") and she sat down with my husband and I and chatted with us for a few minutes.

If you've never met Amy Grant before, you realize two things immediately: she's very pretty up close (not all famous people can pull this off, trust me), and she's very kind. I was a little startled because, as I said at the beginning, only half of her hair was done and for the first 30 seconds I wondered if she was aware of it. After all, it WAS pouring down rain. Maybe she stepped out of the tour bus at one point and that was the result, how did I know? Then she said, "Only half of my hair is done." OK, good. Relief. No more wondering if Amy was the Crazy Cat Lady. She knew.

She thanked me for designing the shirt. I said something about wanting to be her backup singer or her opening act when I was a kid. I have no idea what the two had to do with each other, but I've never said anything particularly intelligent to Amy Grant in my entire life. I take pride in the fact that I said it with a cool demeanor and wasn't all "OMIGAWD I LOVE YOU!!!" about it. That would have been SO lame. I told her - to top off my stupidity - that I'd designed it as a gift to her... and lost the artwork.
"I bought you a birthday present and accidentally threw it away." I'm sure she was touched.

We mostly talked to the tour manager, a guy named Joey who reminded me of my high school psychology teacher. He was a lot of fun and very sweet. I especially appreciated that he had two servings of dinner. It gave me permission to have two desserts. Who cares that I'd just gotten out of the hospital? (Mmm...key lime pie!) Colleen the Merchandise Girl introduced us to the band members as they came in... Kim Keyes, Jenny Gill (who has a new married name I couldn't pronounce and won't attempt to spell), Mike Brignardello... OH BABY. Lots of Christian music history sitting in one room. It was Heaven with raspberry salad dressing as a crown from Jesus - HALLELUJAH! We didn't realize, however, that one guy was from the band Delirious. Had we realized this, my husband would have gushed and I would have excused myself to the bathroom to avoid embarrassment.

We had all-access passes. For some people, that means they just flash their pass and go wherever they want. For us, it meant being scared we were going to open the wrong door and set off an alarm and making my friend Sharlene go everywhere with us. I used the female band restroom and had to walk past Amy's dressing room to get there. Nobody arrested me, questioned me, or told me to back up. It was amazing. I almost tried to drive the tour bus.

At the meet-and-greet, which immediately followed dinner, we talked more to Michael. Mostly, I listened to my friend Sharlene - who knows both Amy and Michael -  talk to him and then I blurted out, "I'm making shirts for you too!" He smiled big and said, "Great! Let's do it!" As he walked away, Sharlene and I marveled at the fact that he has 5 grandchildren. My teenage crush. Grandchildren. NEED MORE SALAD DRESSING!

When Amy got to us, I asked her to sign 2 of my shirts - one for me to frame, and one for my mother, who didn't believe I'd ever ask Amy Grant to sign something for my mom. You'd think she'd know me by now. I may not say intelligent things, but I'm not afraid to bleat them like a shell-shocked bird. Again, I eavesdropped as she talked to my friend, Sharlene.

The show itself was amazing. All the songs I remembered from my youth!! So great to be able to sing along to EVERY. SINGLE. SONG. and know EVERY. SINGLE. WORD. I loved it. It was also so cool to meet up with other Friends of Amy fans that I knew 15+ years ago!! It was an amazing experience. Definitely a dream come true. I am a blessed girl.

I just wish I could come up with smarter things to say when I'm on the spot!!! Pin It