Dreaming of the Rat Pack

I awoke this morning still in that fuzzy place, where cloaked in sleep and not quite sure what is real & what is imagined, I remembered my lovely dream. Realization slowly seeped in that it was no dream at all & the details of one of the most wonderful evenings of my life started to come back to me.

Let me begin my story by saying that Sweet Hubby is (was) not famous for putting a lot of thought into celebrating my birthday. That being said, there was no reason for me to suspect last night was going to be anything other than what he said, a little midweek date to Barnes & Noble, especially since it was still exactly 2 weeks until my birthday. After trying to figure out a way to get me out of the house & to the theatre without my knowing where I was going, he realized it wasn't going to happen so he told me the big surprise, giving me the chance to slip into my little black dress. He was taking me to see The Rat Pack Live at the Sands show downtown. Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin & Sammy Davis, Jr. It was fantastic & the closest we can ever come to seeing legends like this in our time. The music was wonderful, my face hurt from smiling from ear to ear & I clapped until my hands were sore. By far the highlight of the evening was the final number when Ol' Blue Eyes sang My Way. It took me right back to when I was a little girl listening to my dad sing that same song. I can picture him with the lyrics sheet in his hand belting it out & in my mind I can hear him, but since he has been gone now for over 8 years it gets harder and harder to hold on to these memories. The true gift of the evening was closing my eyes while "Frank" sang that song and in my mind seeing & hearing my daddy singing to me. I was overcome with emotion, sadness mixed with joy, for I got to spend a night I will never forget with Frank, Dean, Sammy, My Dad and the love of my life, Sweet Hubby.