NKOTBFFs

Do you remember your New Kids On The Block friends? The girls who were just as obsessed as you were. The girls who had just as many posters on their walls. The girls who didn't care that the only music you wanted to listen to was New Kids' because that was the only music that they wanted to listen to as well. The ones you went to the concerts with. The ones that also had replaced their Ken dolls with the Jordan/Donnie/Joey/Jon/Danny doll when you played Barbies. The girls that hung on with you at the end. The NKOTBFFs.

Some of them may have disappeared over the years. Maybe they don't like the New Kids any more. Or maybe they went to one concert and that was enough for them. Others may still be right there with you. Maybe you're still going to concerts together or listening to The Block over glasses of wine. Then there are the others, the ones who have come into your life just now, for this. Maybe you met them on Twitter or standing for general admission at one of the shows. As for me, I got lucky.

I met Lindsay when she was in high school. I was in college and roommates with her older sister, Megan, at the time. Megan and I got along great, but there was always a special bond between Lindsay and me. When she would come up on weekends and spend the night with us, Lindsay and I could gab for hours. It was usually about N'Sync or Britney Spears or Christina Aguilera or whoever was hot at the time. We even went to Wango Tango together. But, after I graduated college, we didn't really see each other aside from bumping into each other at random birthdays or going away parties.

Then came April 18, 2009, the night of the show at the Hollywood Palladium. My Facebook status had been updated to say, "Traci Mueller is singing la la la la la la Tonight." Lindsay commented back, "Are you going?" and it was all over.

For the last few months, we have spent countless hours on the phone discussing every DDub tweet, oohing and aahing over every picture and YouTube video, analyzing the New Kids place in pop culture, and laughing about how absolutely crazy we have come to find ourselves. It's a friendship unlike any that I ever expected to find at this place in my life. I mean, really, who thought that they'd be nursing a celebrity crush this huge past the age of...well, at least early twenties? Sure, I have great friends, amazing friends, actually. But none of them quite understand this new New Kids love that I have.

Lindsay gets me...and it, this whole reunion ride. There is no possible way that it would have been quite this fun had she not come back into my life. Who else would I have done drive-bys of the rehearsal space with? Who else would call me, drunk from the bar, to talk about the New Kids? Who else could I count on to keep me updated with all of the latest websites, blogs, online radio stations, and YouTube videos? Who else would tolerate my constant tweets/Facebook messages/texts regarding all things New Kids? Who else would assure me that I have not totally lost my mind, or at least assure me that if I have lost my mind, then so have she and thousands of others? Lindsay is right there with me, doing things she never expected to be doing and LOVING it!

Who are your NKOTBFFs? The girls who don't laugh at you when you say that you want to cry when...? The girls that still listen to The Right Stuff, Please Don't Go Girl, Popsicle, and I Wanna Be Loved By You? The girls that have toured the country almost as much as the guys? The girls that are as die hard as you are and just as unafraid to admit it? Take a look, appreciate them, love the second chance we've been given. This time is short and I'm so glad that I've gotten to share it with Lindsay.