This Mom Losing Her Absolute Sh*t At A NKOTB Concert Is All Of Us

She got to touch Joey and we’re all so jealous

If you’re a woman of a certain age, chances are excellent that you once adored the 1980s’ most popular boy band — New Kids On The Block. They’re currently touring and if you haven’t seen your Facebook feed lit up with gush-worthy photos of your childhood friends reliving their 7th grade fantasy of going to a NKOTB show, we’re about to hit you with the best ones you’ll ever see.

According to BuzzFeed, Kim Mesteller and Kristen Watters have been big fans of NKOTB since 1986 (yes, we are that old). During a recent concert the pair attended, Mesteller captured some pretty damn incredible photos of Watters that Kennedy Kocheran, Mesteller’s daughter, tweeted out. The photos quickly went viral because, hello.

THAT FACE. Do you feel the burning of your middle school envy as Watters actually touches Joey McIntyre?

Joey. Fucking. McIntyre.

This wasn’t Mesteller and Watters’ first time at the rodeo, having gone to several NKOTB shows already. Here they are at one back in 2015. “They have been to every concert tour together since the group got back together,” Kocheran says.

Kocheran tells Scary Mommy that her mom “has already touched two of the New Kids at a Columbus, OH show this past May.” But this was the first time Watters made physical contact with any of the band members. And it was epic.

Let’s break this down.

Watters reaches out to McIntyre in the vain hope that he might reach back.

OH MY GOD HE TOTALLY REACHED BACK.

Her face is a mixture of elation, panic, and the dawning realization that she’s ticked some very important shit off her bucket list.

Once it all blows over? Just absolute freaking joy.

The icing on the cake? The Kids themselves replied to Kocheran’s tweet.

Holy crap, we’re squealing for her.

Like many other women of a certain age, I slept with trading cards of Joey McIntyre’s beautiful face that I clipped from TeenBeat magazine under my pillow for at least my entire seventh and eighth years of life. Next to Zack Morris from Saved by the Bell, Joey was my top choice for a first boyfriend and eventual husband.

It’s because of those memories that I know how Watters is feeling in that moment. When Joey McIntyre held her hand, she was no longer a mom or even a grown adult — she was an excited kid again. And that feeling is worth more than the price of any concert ticket.

Kocheran tells BuzzFeed that although her mom and Watters are both a little embarrassed about how their viral fame came about, they’re also happy and amazed it the tweet’s popularity. “They love it and think it’s so funny.”

We love it too. Mostly because we’ve either lived it or are still dreaming of living it.