We Got This

I'm sitting here in a mixture of exhaustion and emotion, trying to put all of my thoughts about this weekend together into something cohesive and comprehensible. Needless to say, it's pretty hard.

I got to experience the New Kids On The Block reunion one more time. In Vegas. The anticipation alone made it worth it. But, the show, it was incredible. The best concert I've ever seen. Ever. From the start, it looked like it was going to be fun. From the moment Jordan messed up the lyrics to Full Service, I knew we were in for a night of laughs. And laugh we did, right down to the last seconds of no one knowing who was singing what in Step By Step. The show was loose, fun, warm, and fantastic. It felt less like slick pop stars performing heavily rehearsed songs and choreography and more like brothers and sisters and cousins playing around at a family reunion. It was relaxed and happy with nothing to prove and nowhere else anyone would have rather been.

These guys never cease to amaze me. Joe with his smooth showmanship and unending personality. Jordan with his perfection and his cool. Danny with his strength, solidarity, and his breakdancing skills. Jon with his sweet shyness and exposed emotion. Donnie, oh Donnie, with his raw passion and heartbreaking charisma. Donnie stole my heart all over again.

Just over a year after they announced their reunion, here we are, at the end of the ride. What a sweet ride it has been. They gave us an amazing year. They gave us shows and fun nights out. They gave us new music and new friends. They gave us memories that will be cherished for the rest of our lives. They gave us peeks back into our youth and opened up our hearts to feeling young again. They gave us laughter and love to last forever.

I feel like I have been living in a pop culture bubble for the past fifteen months. There has been nothing relevant except for NKOTB. There have been no men but these five. There has been no music but New Kids On The Block, Hangin' Tough, Step By Step, Face The Music, and The Block (with a little Michael Jackson thrown in here and there). There have been no friends but the NKOTBFFs. Nothing else has mattered and that was fine with me.

But now it's time to let go a little more, to let go enough to release the grip completely and come back down to Earth. It's time to start listening to some new music. Or some old music. It's time to put the NKOTB videos back in their cases and back on the shelf. It's time to put that credit card away for actual emergencies...not the "I HAVE to go to another show" kind. It's time to reconnect with the non-NKOTB friends. It might even be time to start dating...or paying attention to your husband...again.

My love for the New Kids never faded and it was fun to find that out. It was touching to know that so many of us shared that love and that they still loved us in return. It's been a year full of love - youthful, warm, happy, sparkly love - and that love will always be there. Safely tucked away. Waiting. For whatever's next.