New Kids and the Nostalgia Moms Need

I’m about 6 months into my 40th year now and it certainly brings along with it some serious feelings and reflection. The reflection covers everything from major life decisions like my career path, home choice and the number of children I have, but it also covers lighter choices like clothing and hairstyles, past experiences and music choices. 

There are so many feelings and questions that come along with your 40s. Did I make the right choices and am I happy with them? Will I still be happy with them in another 10 or 20 years. What if I want to change something? Can I or will it have an impact on my family? SO. MANY. QUESTIONS. I guess that’s something that comes with being a mom who’s 40. 

I think back to simpler times when I was younger. Times when I didn’t have so many demands on me. When I could focus on me and on the things I wanted. When choices I made didn’t carry so much weight for so many. When the only one who depended on me was me. When my body wasn’t stretch-marked or squishy and when I could wear things just because they looked good on me, not because they were practical! We all think back to these times and wish we could capture the feelings that come along with them once in a while. Well, ladies, there’s a place you can go where you can, for a brief shining moment, recapture so much of this. It’s a New Kids on the Block concert, and it’s pure MAGIC!! 

My best friend Lauren and I have a strong bond that’s made even stronger by our mutual love for all things NKOTB and we’ve made it a mission to see them as much as we can as long as they are touring. (If any New Kids are reading this, please don’t EVER stop!!) This past summer we had a night away to see them for their MixTape Tour.  It required months of planning and prepping, running to the bathroom during my Writing lesson to buy tickets, but it was totally worth the 24 hours of fun that accompanied it. 

Sitting by the pool before the show you could tell the place was full of moms. We are easily recognized by our Vera Bradley bags, our carefully applied SPF 50 and our 1:1 beer to water ratios. But I noticed more as I sat there. Women were genuinely happy. They were laughing and smiling. They were comfortable in their own skin. They were sharing stories about everything from labors to their favorite New Kid (lifelong Jordan girl here) and most of all, they were relaxed. You could see how so many of us felt like we could finally shed the stress we’re constantly under for just a bit and go back to a time when we were us. Not mom us, but us. We could go in the pool and get out when we wanted to. We could eat a hot meal and not have to share our last French fry. 

I also noticed it was easy to navigate this New Kids mom group. Ladies were open and friendly, this was certainly a non-judgment zone. There was none of the so often seen women against women stuff that we deal with. No stress about breastfeeding or bottles, language delays, how many sports to have the kids in, who’s working a lot and who’s staying home. Just ladies having some serious fun. It was refreshing to be a part of. 

Later that night during the show, (which was AMAZING), the effect of the experience still kept going strong. We danced in our perfectly sparkly NKOTB gear, we laughed, we sang and we didn’t have to worry about anything other than making it to the bathroom, because, well, Mom bladders are a bitch! 

This is not to say being a mom isn’t amazing and that we don’t want to be a part of it, but let’s face it, Mom-ing is hard and you need to be able to feel like yourself again once in a while. So do yourself a favor in your 40s and get yourself and your fellow Blockheads to a show and have some serious fun!  

Kerri Glanville is a mom of two boys and a teacher. Passionate about humanhood and a strong advocate of womanhood and motherhood, Kerri decided it was time for her to write and share her thoughts about these topics and start the conversation. 

Kerri's blog/website coming soon, we'll keep you posted for sure!