Timberlake timbers...

Do you remember your first concert?

OF COURSE YOU DO.

Mine was Whitney Houston and Lionel Ritchie!

Well, Beau’s was Saturday night and it was Justin Timberlake at the Forum in LA.

I wanna start by saying I’M ALWAYS THANKFUL for my experiences and equally grateful for the lessons they impart, bc my lorrrrrd, the lessons never quit up in here.

Beau spent the night at his dad’s Friday night and had a sleep over with a football friend. That is code for who knows what time they actually went to sleep. The next day they had a 3.5 hour football clinic in the middle of the day. As 6pm rolled around Beau was begging me to let him go to sleep for the night. Like instead of going to see JT he wanted to sleep. This clearly set the tone for the evening. All of this compounded by the fact that I bought these tickets in January and it’s now May and he is in his “hip hop era” currently so his respect and admiration of JT is a soft second or third place now.

I told him we’d go and leave early no problem.

Inside though, I had a problem.

I wanted to see the full show.

I wanted to get my money’s worth (insert the emoji with wide eyes and the other one with dollars coming out of it’s mouth - ugh).

We got there at 8:15pm. I saw on Reddit Justin went on at exactly 9:15pm the night before and sure enough, he did the same on Saturday night. That was fine but the build up to his entrance was like convincing your 11 year old that Mathnasium is “fun” and flossing is important.

He did light up when the pre show DJ played “Teach Me How to Dougie” and that was a souvenir moment I’ll treasure forever bc that was his peak level of excitement for the night.

JT’s entrance was pretty sweet. Lots of drama. Beau was stoked for that. He played a newer song and then a few classics (that all the moms knew) and then the gut punch: Three back to back love ballads or new-ish, obscure-ish songs and that’s when I lost him.

Beau said “can I please go to bed now?'“

I MEAN GOD BLESS.

So we left an hour and 5 minutes into the show.

I was battling whether I had shown up as mom of the year or doormat of the decade. I will die on the sword of not raising an overtly entitled child and yet I let him call the shots on some expensive concert tickets.

Fact is, he wasn’t happy and he was too tired to course correct.

He wasn’t open to experiencing any of it and regardless of my need to see the dancers (sorry, but that’s the best part LOL) perform every song, dance my heart out, and enjoy the vibes - we called it.

We left.

He fell asleep in the Uber on the way home and I made peace with it.

My expectations were HIGH. Both for the event and for Beau’s “first concert experience”. The show was great.

My one complaint is that he needed life-size screens on the side of the stage because if you can’t see the artist’s face and make that intimate connection, it’s a hard sell. This is just my opinion. Also I’m fairly certain Taylor Swift has up-leveled the concert experience beyond what we’ve known in the past and artists are being challenged to be more vulnerable and creative in all ways.

Expectations will cheapen your experience. Not always, but often.

Next time, I’ll make sure I negotiate the seating better.

Next time, I’ll make sure Beau is well rested.

Next time, I’ll choose the artist with my enthusiasm.

Next time, I’ll just stay open to all possible outcomes.

Justin is a wonderful performer. I’ve worked with him a few times and he is down to earth and was always super kind to me. I will say that as far as first ever concerts go; there was a little too much TIMBER in that TIMBERLAKE.

OKAYILOVEYOUBYEEE,

xx

Nic.

ps. CLASSES THIS WEEK and announcements.

* Tuesday QUICKIE YOGA (today) 12-12:30pm pst. $10. This is a well rounded, accessible yoga flow paired with music that includes mobility work and a 5 minute savasana. It’s meant to be a community offering at $10 a class and if you need financial assistance, just reach out. Hope to see you soon. Sign up here.

* Saturday FULL BODY STRENGTH 7:15-8am pst. $20. This is part of our MAY FIT program but open to anyone. We begin with CARS, strength train lower and upper body, enjoy 2 dance breaks, and then end with a 5 minute guided meditation. Come for the dancing, stay for the booty pump. LOL. It’s all levels and the weekend energy is always a delight.  Sign up here.

* Saturday AVIATOR NATION YOGA FLOW 9-10am, 10:15-11:15am. In person, in Santa Monica. Come on out. Sign up here.

* Sunday AVIATOR NATION YOGA FLOW. 10:45-11:45am. In person, in Santa Monica. Come on out. Sign up here.

pps. JUNE FIT and why you need to be an INFINITE MEMBER asap.

JUNE FIT is 9 strength + 3 yoga classes in 30 days. Next month I’ll be offering a continuous schedule of classes from June 3rd through June 29th which is 16 classes (M/W/F/SAT) and a great deal for my INFINITE members because it’s all included for you. If you’d like to just join us in JUNE FIT that’s great too. Just wanted to offer this deal if summer months seem to be about everyone else BUT YOU. We get it done in 35 minutes. I promise you’ll have fun, create a routine, and reap the benefits of more movement. Learn about JUNE FIT HERE or get everything I have available in my INFINITE MEMBERSHIP HERE.

ppps. EPISODE 22 OF SHOCK AND YALL IS OUT NOW. I’m speaking with yoga and fascia icon, JILL MILLER. If you’re in the world of yoga, you’ve heard of her Tune Up Fitness system and her tools for embodiment that complement the traditions of popular yoga styles and basic human function. We unlock the secrets of fascia, effects of scar tissue on the female body, the surprising and transformative aspects of a yoga practice, kids and technology and of course grief. Here’s a snippet below. OH AND PLEASE, PRETTY PLEASE, REVIEW THE SHOW HERE.

Thank you in advance and enjoy…