There are dreams, and then...there are dreams.
You know, the dreams you have as a 13 year old girl. The dreams that seem to be impossibilities. The fantasies, the what ifs, the "that'll never happen to me"s.
When I was 14 or 15 I had a dream that one day I would meet Donnie Wahlberg and he would fall madly deeply in love with me.
Then I grew up. I fell in and out of love with "real life" guys, and let go of that dream.
But my love for Donnie stood the test of time. Always in the background I would follow his career, watch whatever movies or television shows he was in, and anxiously await the day when he would announce the reunion of the New Kids On The Block.
And then it happened.
I'm going to spare you the details of my love affair with NKOTB and the FIVE (yes five) concerts I went to on their reunion tour. Although, if you would like a taste, click here.
I had a mission at the end of 2008 to get a "Donnie hug" and I succeeded in that goal. But that just wasn't enough for me. I wanted to have a real, honest to goodness conversation with the man.
Through a series of events, and the goodness of my coworker, last night I had that opportunity, and you better believe I took it and RAN with it.
There was a Charity Poker Tournament taking place in a neighboring town last night, and my coworker invited me (and my friend BFF) to join her and her boyfriend (who through his work has a lot of involvement with particular celebrities, events, etc.).
This Poker Tournament was being hosted by none other than Donnie Wahlberg.
So, we went, BFF and I. All the while holding in our 14 year old squeals of delight and excitement and acting like civilized adults on the outside.
Shortly after arriving we located Donnie, and pretty much took up residence near his poker table. Co-worker and boyfriend were playing poker elsewhere, so it was just BFF and I (and a gaggle of what I dubbed "Donnie Girls" with their boobs exposed, their excessive make-up and their non-concealed squeals of delight and excitement).
BFF and I stood off to the side a bit and just watched. (and maybe snuck a picture or two with my phone).
And then Co-worker and boyfriend joined us and Boyfriend asked "do you want to meet him?" uh...does a leopard have spots?
So, Boyfriend takes us over, and introduces us. Donnie is cordial, shakes our hands, offers to take a picture with us, and then hugs each of us.
As he is hugging me, his next hand of poker is dealt, so mid hug he leans over to check his cards. I start pulling away and say "I don't want you to lose your game because of me" and he pulls me back into the hug and says "no, don't worry about that sweetheart". Melt into a puddle right there...le sigh...
So, then we did leave him to his game, and proceeded to mingle and hang out for a few hours. Co-worker and Boyfriend left in the meantime, and BFF and I were left to fend for ourselves.
And suddenly I looked around and realized that the Donnie Girls were nowhere to be found (Donnie himself had left the room a while back).
So, we decided that wherever the Donnie Girls were, that's where Donnie would be, so we set off in search. We found them all in another room, hanging out at tables, so we took a seat ourselves. Donnie was off in the corner of that room with his "entourage".
Then he started make his way out, obviously getting ready to leave, and the Donnie Girls took turns pouncing on him for hugs, kisses, photos, etc.
BFF and I sat back and waited.
When the insanity had died down, and it looked as if he was saying his last goodbyes to his friends, I said to BFF "come on, it's now or never". And we walked over to him. I waited politely for him to finish a conversation and then I tapped him on the shoulder. He turned and I said "Hi, I have a story to tell you".
He grinned that famous Donnie grin, and said "oh? Tell me".
At this point I'm pretty sure I rambled something about our last meeting, me getting the hug, him signing my wrist which I was supposed to tattoo (check that link above for that story) and he looked at my wrist and said "but you didn't?" I smiled apologetically and said "but I didn't" and he sort of laughed. Then I told him that I was a lifetime fan, and wanted him to know that I appreciated him because of who he is, the way he carries himself and interacts with and appreciates his fans, and because of the way he lives his life and his outlook on life. I told him "I have the same outlook on life, so I appreciate that in you". He looked humbled for a minute, dipped his head low and said thank you. Then he hugged me and said "I love and appreciate you too". PUDDLE, melting...le sigh.
I may or may not have been asleep on his shoulder at this point...at any rate, I'm certain I was dreaming!
We got a few more pictures with him, discussed Twitter, and the fact that he's not following me "Send me Tweets about tonight, and I promise if I see them, I will follow you" he said, and then he had to go "I'm going to miss my flight". And he was off, and so were we.
Once safely esconced in my car BFF (who had her own private conversation with Donnie as well) and I screamed like little Justin Bieber fans.
And that, ladies and gents, is my story of how I have to come up with a new impossible dream.
The End.
