I get nostalgic during the holidays. I miss the large family and friend’s gatherings with great food, conversation, card games, and other activities. It is less stressful when celebrating with my small family. It is just the same great time. We cook together and enjoy the food and company of each other.
For too many years, I worked on New Years Eve. Usually around 11:30, my partner and I would find a viaduct to hide under. Shortly before midnight, gunshots would start ringing out and it would sound like a war zone. We would just sit in our squad car and drink our coffee, safe from stray bullets.
I have rarely gone out on New Years Eve since my early twenties. It is one of the amateur nights. Amateur drinkers, amateur drunken drivers, and professional ass wipes. If I did venture out, it was for an early dinner and getting home before all the gunshots and drunk drivers came out. I was home way before midnight. At midnight, I cracked a bottle of champagne.
Most of us welcome the New Year hoping it will be better than the one left behind. We try to put the last year in the rear-view mirror. The key word is hope. None of us have a crystal ball to predict what the New Year will bring. The only ones who can make the New year better are ourselves. Maybe, just maybe, we can be better people or do better ourselves. I do not make resolutions. I am not good at keeping them. I just try to improve myself, even if it is just a little.
I am very fortunate. I am lucky to have lived this long. I have a small circle of family and friends. My needs are taken care of. I am content. Thinking back over the past year, I lost many people I know. Too many were were people I worked with. I mourn their loss. I have fond memories of the time were shared together at work or socializing.
This past year has been hard on many due to our broken national political situation. Way too many people take politics seriously. It is personal to them. For some, a few politicians are treated with religious fervor. Others were “traumatized” by the election results. I do not have the mental energy to get angry or argue over the less-ons (Lower than morons) from both parties in Washington. I do ridicule them. Better to be joking about them than wasting energy on anger.
Many will celebrate New Year’s Day watching the Bowl Games, after treating their hangovers so they can drink again. Some will pursue other activities or maybe celebrate with a nice meal. Gathering with friends and family is one of the best ways to celebrate the New Year, no matter what you are doing.
Whatever you are doing, I wish you a Happy New Year.