Part birthday gift, part checking items off our list of things we wanted to do before we became parents, I got tickets for my wife and I for the Tom Petty concert at the Beacon Theatre.

Little did I know it as I was paying far over market value for the tickets, it was a concert of deep tracks and covers.  It was Tom Petty exploring the music that influenced him and the like.

Originally, I got the tickets before my wife was pregnant.  Perhaps lying to ourselves, we went to the concert believing this was a new New York with much stricter enforcement of the smoking and “smoking” laws.  That simply wasn’t the case.  Fortunately, the Beacon Theatre was more than accommodating finding us a place to sit that was safe for a pregnant woman to watch the show.

While there, we did get to meet some celebrities.  I won’t mention the name, but my wife and I could not stop laughing at a popular television host at the time who wore purple velvet loafers.

Between my wife tiring while pregnant and just the overall concern she had, we were quick to leave the concert.  Due to the nature of the concert, we never did get the chance to hear Tom Petty sing his biggest hits.  From that point forward, everytime Tom Petty would come on the radio, we would joke about how we still haven’t heard Tom Petty play that song live.  As it turns out, we never will as Tom Petty passed away this week.

Call me insensitive, but with all the extra Tom Petty songs on the radio this past week, I would get a smile and a chuckle.  It makes me remember those purple loafers and never hearing that song in concert.  It also reminds me of a time before my son is born when it just my wife and I doing all the things we wanted to do.

In the end, the lesson with Tom Petty passing is to enjoy the time with your spouse not just before you have children, but after.  Make time for one another for these moments.  And, yes, make sure you go see these legends in concert before they die.  However, before you go, make sure they are playing all of their hits.