Too late, Jordan, I'm married now . . .

Yup, that's what my shirt read as my aunt and I headed west on I-70 to our capital city to see New Kids on the Block!  Now you have to know that my aunt (who by the way is just three years older than me) and I were (and maybe still) OBSESSED with Jordan, Joey, Donnie, Danny and Jon for YEARS!  I mean, we couldn't get enough of them.  Posters, t-shirts, lunchboxes, bed sheets. . .you name it, at least one of us had it.  And it didn't stop there.  We could (and maybe still) rattle off stats and facts of our fave boys from Boston.  Jordan's full name is Jordan Nathaniel Marcel Knight, his father is a minister, he taught himself to play piano, he wrote and sang 'I'll be Loving You Forever' for me. . .all true facts, look it up on Wikipedia!  lol!  Okay, maybe not all true facts (he didn't actually write that song, but I choose to believe he was singing it to yours truly) but we knew the L-D on NKOTB.  Now, for all you youngsters out there, this was no easy feat, learning all the cookies on the Fab Five.  Back in those days there was no Google, no Perez Hilton, no TMZ . . .we had to rely solely on Bop, Teen Beat and Seventeen to learn our facts.  But it was all good. 

So on Monday afternoon, my son and I met my aunt and her three girls at Meijer to buy the staples of going to see the boys from B-town. . .t-shirts and puffy paint.  The party quickly moved on to my Gran's house and it was like 1989 all over again!  We had the stereo blasting NKOTB, this time from their Greatest Hits CD instead of their Hangin' Tough tape I nearly wore out playing back in the day.  My aunt and I got our supplies out and started in on our concert attire.  Hers read, 'I've got the Right Stuff' and well, you know what mine read.  All the while, my Gran laughed and clapped and chattered with excitement right along with us. It was great!

Now, as I said, my shirt had a message for Jordan on it.  It makes me laugh when I think about it, but seriously, when I was 13, I honestly thought I had a chance!  I had a distinct plan for my life. . .I would graduate, attend Indiana University and move to Los Angeles right after receiving my degree.  I would become a Laker Girl, following in the footsteps of my idol (before we even knew what Idol was) Paula Abdul.  Jordan would see me at a Lakers/Celtics game and fall head over heels in love with me, ask me to tour with NKOTB as a dancer, we would marry in a huge, elaborate ceremony with both his father and my Papa doing the honors, have three children (Shawna, Shayna and Jordan, Jr.) and live happily ever after.  Crack me up!  That was my plan! 

The concert was AwEsOmE!  We had such a good time.  Funny how things change, though, as you are an adult.  Like, I drove to see NKOTB this time. . .in my own vehicle. . .a MINI VAN!  And, since the show was on my dime, not my parents like the NKOTB concerts before, I opted not to buy the $50 NKOTB t-shirt I wanted.  And, I griped when I had to pay seven bucks for a flippin' Coke!  Welcome to adulthood, Sister Sassafrass!  lol! 

The moral of the story, kids, is God has a plan for our lives.  It might not include marrying Jordan Knight or being a Laker Girl, but his plan is perfect.  He knows what is perfect for us.  Like pairing big mouth, on the go-go Sister Sassafrass here with a quiet, farm boy, who is content sitting in a tree stand at 4 o'clock on a crisp, cool fall morning.  Perfecto!  Or like having impatient, do it now, can't wait, life's not fair wah-wah, me wait for five years on the perfect little ball of energy baby boy!  God had a plan and he knew!  My baby boy came at just the right time for our family.  And God has SO much more planned for me.  And for you. 

So Cover-Girls, keep on Hangin' Tough, and Please Don't Go, Girl!  Keep on checkin' back to my blog to read up on all The Right Stuff and don't forget. . .I'll be Loving you Forever!