They say that a bond between sisters is one like none other. Having two sisters myself, I have to attest to that. My two older sisters and I hardly have anything in common. One of us can be described as quiet and reserved. The other can be loud and silly, and that is very much under exaggerated. And me, well, I would like to think I fall somewhere in between them. Even with all our differences, there is one thing that always bonds us together, and it has nothing to do with us having the same parents. It’s the one thing that almost no one understands, and some people probably think its super cheesy. And this one thing is, our love for NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK!
Ever since I can remember, we all loved our New Kids on the Block. We had posters, T-shirts, VHS tapes, and I think even some type of bedding. Even long after they stopped making albums, we would sit in front of the TV and watch the VHS tapes day after day, imagining how we would react if we were at the concert or trying to learn all the dance moves. We watched it so often that eventually my brother hid the tapes from us because he got so sick of us watching it all the time. Don’t worry, we found it and made a marathon of it!
Then, many years later, to our surprise, it was our dream come true! They were reuniting, making a new album, and going on tour! The first concert we attended, it was like we were 12 years old again, screaming, jumping, pretty much looking like a bunch of school girls obsessed with their famous boy band. Well two of us were at least. The quiet and reserved sister was smiling big with her binoculars to her face so she could get a good look, it’s still a joke we bring up now. It was one of the best sister nights we ever had, and it started a tradition.
Every year, we anxiously await any type of announcement of a tour or new album. Even when one of them did solo albums, we researched tours and appearances. And that was one of our luckiest ones. We paid about $25 to get general admission to Jordan Knights solo album appearance at a small outdoor center in Helotes TX. I was about 7 months pregnant and huge! But I didn’t care, I was going! I even made a T-shirt, in hopes I would catch Jordan’s eye. Well, my big belly gave one of the security guards a heart and let us get a good standing spot in the corner. I’ll never forget my sister’s screams to Jordan: “WHAT ABOUT HER BABY?! JORDAN!!!! WHAT ABOUT HER BABY?!” And then, he saw me, read my shirt, and said “I will!” I may be the youngest of us three, but that night I made my sisters jealous as Jordan brought me on stage and signed my baby bump!
And now, the three of us finally got to meet the whole band. As many times as we have attended their concerts, it was time to splurge on meet and greet passes. We sang, we danced, we screamed, we laughed, we cried! They may never remember me or my sisters, but for us, it was a night to remember always! My sisters and I have always had our ups and downs, our close times and our distances. But at the end of the day, our love for New Kids on the Block will always keep us ‘Hangin Tough’!
*Special thanks and shout outs to the special men in our lives who although they think we’re a little nuts, they still help out with the kids so we can have our once in a blue moon sister night with the new kids!
-Marielis, Blockhead sister for life
Marielis Unedited 