You’ll recall that Chloe’s 12th birthday present was going to be a Lady Gaga concert. We were supposed to go on Saturday and I even reserved a room at the cool Hotel Eventi in the city for the occasion.

But alas, Lady Gaga was not to be. We found out a couple of weeks ago that she cancelled the remainder of her tour due to a hip injury requiring surgery. Huge disappointment, not just for Chloe – this was to be her first concert, after all – but for me, too. After spending hours trying to obtain tickets, I finally succeed (and only because she had added another night at Madison Square Garden), only to have them rendered completely useless.

We didn’t have a plan B. Chloe didn’t want to go to New York anyway and do something else (I even proposed a little shopping spree), she didn’t want to see if a different kind of show, she had no idea what she wanted instead. But she handled her disappointment with maturity and grace, however, and took time to mull over her options.

And today, almost four weeks after her birthday, we finally took care of a replacement present. I signed her up for a digital photography class at our local museum and bought her a camera she chose through her own research.

And should Lady Gaga reschedule at some point, I promised I would spend hours trying to buy tickets all over again. Yes, that’s how much I love you, Chloe!