- Harry Styles is popular with young women, but also with people like me, 40-year-old moms.
- I got lost in maternity and Styles’ music helped me find myself again.
- I went to two of his concerts by myself and it was the best self care I could have imagined.
Harry styles It’s loved by young women who grew up listening to One Direction, but it’s also popular with 40 year old womenmoms and even grandmothers. With the release of “Harry’s House” in the spring of last year, which recently won a Grammy for Album of the yearI joined the legions of women obsessed with the endlessly charming, fast-paced kind of dancing.
I love One Direction and styles‘ music for years, but before I became a serious fan early last year, I was in a bad place. I have been mentally, professionally, and emotionally stagnant since the start of the pandemic, when I lost access to daycare and added another child to my household. Then I bought “Harry’s House” after enjoying the singles on the radio, and something in me changed for the better. I became more playful with my children, started writing more, and started social outings with friends.
My newfound love for Styles led me to impulsively buy tickets to two of his recent shows near Los Angeles, the closest to my home in Portland, Oregon —both times without consulting my family first.
For a housewife who hadn’t had a kid-free night in over three years, it was an act of self-care that was long overdue, and I credit Styles for encouraging me to do it.
I got lost in maternity
Yo lost a strong sense of self after having children. My days are spent driving my children to and from autism and speech therapy, and in the car, I’ve gotten to know Harry. His songs have brightened up my worst and most stressful days as a mom.
“Music for a Sushi Restaurant” and “As It Was” give me such euphoria that I can’t be in a bad mood when they play. When there’s traffic jams, my kids are crying in the backseat before succumbing to naps, or I’m facing a storm, Styles calms me down. I often drive my kids around in a severely sleep-deprived state, and to keep from feeling drowsy, I sing Styles’ upbeat lyrics.
Portland, Oregon, is known for its gloomy weather, so the joy in Styles’ songs, including the burgeoning musically influenced “Treat People With Kindness” and the largely overlooked “Sunflower, Vol. 6″ on ” Fine Line”, have helped thwart my seasonal blues.
In a time when everyone seems to be reliving the 80s in the music, the psychedelic, funky ’70s feel of Styles on “Fine Line” and parts of “Harry’s House” are very refreshing.
I bought tickets to see it.
In the fall, I casually looked for seats for Styles'”love on tour” stop near Los Angeles and, within minutes, he had a single ticket to his performance on November 9.
Some people thought it was weird that I went to the show without a group of friends, but I’m never alone, so it was the best trip I could have asked for. For once, I had to pack a suitcase just for myself and didn’t have to worry about including snacks, baby wipes, diapers, trash bags for wet pants, or spare toddler clothes.
I even had lunch with my childhood best friend, who happened to be at Los Angeles International Airport at the same time as me. It was so nice to have a fully engaged conversation with another adult without constantly looking at my kids. I read my book uninterrupted on the plane, showered twice in one day, and ate sushi for the first time in years at the venue, Kia Forum, which sold the plate in honor of Styles’ hit song.
I hopped on Ubers with little regard for car seat installation and had lengthy conversations with many other concertgoers. I’m not used to being free of charge, but it felt great in the context of my adventures with Harry Styles.
I spoke to several women in their 60s who had traveled across the country to see him and a girl who had her 18th birthday at midnight and shared a birthday with Styles. After scanning the room, I noticed that there didn’t seem to be many women my age in the show. I thought that maybe most of them had kids the same age as me and opted out, and I felt a tingle of pride because, for once, I put myself first.
My husband wasn’t exactly thrilled with my spontaneous purchase, but knowing how much Styles had enriched my life over the past year, he understood that it was important for me to take this journey alone. I joked that it was my version of Cheryl Strayed’s “Wild,” a memoir about the author’s journey walking alone to deal with her demons and her buried grief.
Styles tells people at every concert that they can be whoever they want for the night, and I’m so grateful that he gave me permission to do that not only in his presence but also in my everyday life. In “Harry’s House”, I’m not just a mother of children.
