My brush with Donnie Walhberg's lips...

So...once upon a time, I kissed one of the New Kids on the Block.

I should start by saying that anyone that thinks I'm a dork for writing a blog about this should turn back now...cause it's only gonna get worse.

When I was 10 years old, I went to my first New Kids on the Block concert...and as any 30-something woman can attest to, NKOTB were the Beatles of our era. Most women of my generation, when asked who their first love was, sigh and say one of those five familiar names: Jon, Joe, Jordan, Donnie or Danny. So to have the opportunity to see them live again, at age 30, was beyond what I can really even put into words.

When my sister and I learned they were coming to Nashville back in March, we immediately got online and bought tickets. I was honestly a little bummed out because we ended up in Section 6, Row 6, which is about the equivalent of Row 40. I was excited to be on the floor but had hoped to get closer seats. I even looked online in the days leading up to the show, on Ebay and Craigslist, and debated about spending another pretty penny to get closer seats. Ultimately I decided I didn't want to spend the money to get closer seats when we already had decent ones. So I didn't.

I should also say that when my sister and I were 10 and 13, we chased the NK all over creation...to Atlanta, to Chattanooga...we even camped out 43 hours to get front row seats when they came to Murfreesboro. We were the ultimate NKOTB fans! We even met Donnie and Danny when we went to Atlanta to see them. Upon meeting Donnie back then, my mom promptly asked him: "Will you marry my daughter?" Ha!

Flash forward to 2009. When we got to the show at the Sommet Center in Nashville, we automatically noticed that there was a blocked off section right beside us that looked like a riser with a piano on it. We got excited because we assumed maybe one of the guys would come out and play the piano during the show. When the girls next to us got there, they explained that they had been to a show in St. Louis and that all five guys would come out on the riser during the show.

They were right! When the guys came out, we managed to work our way up to the fence thing which was surrounding the riser and were the first to push our way through, which meant we were the closest to the guys. (My sister stayed back, not wanting to risk getting squished in a stampede...and believe me, the girls behind us were definitely going nuts and pushing us up against the fence thing pretty hard!)

They sang a couple of songs on the riser, and at the very end, Donnie came out to the crowd and kissed three girls: the two girls I met at the show...and ME! Yep...planted a big kiss right on my lips!!! It's safe to say I was pretty much about to melt into the floor. Call me a loser or a freak or the biggest nerd on the planet...but when I was 10, my biggest dream was to kiss one of the New Kids. And tonight, at age 30, it happened. Not many women can say they actually got to LIVE OUT one of their childhood fantasies!!!

The whole night was honestly one of the best of my life. From the moment the opening screen flashed up with the message: "15 years ago, they walked away. Tonight, they're back. Are you READY?" ~ I was instantly transported back to another time...another place...a time of innocence, and dreams, and belief that anything could happen. I could almost picture my 10-year-old self standing there, gazing up at the stage with wide eyes, wishing I was old enough to catch the eye of one of these guys I thought hung the moon. If I could have only told that little girl..."Guess what? In 20 years, you are going to get to kiss Donnie Wahlberg!!!" It might sound silly...but that kiss reminded me a lot about who I am and who I used to be. For one brief, shining moment, my 10-year-old self and my 30-year-old self collided...and it brought a great, big, goofy grin to my face.

What a night. Laugh at me if you want...but I went to sleep that night with a sweet smile on my face, memories of yesterday in my dreams and a kiss I waited 20 years for on my lips...