New Years Eve

I love holidays because I love seeing how everyone chooses to celebrate them. I feel like I get to know each person better by viewing what they deem important as each holiday comes around. Not that any one way is the RIGHT way to celebrate a holiday, it's just everyone's personal choices. Some people think we're wrong for doing the whole Santa thing with our kids, we don't understand those who don't do it. Some people can't stand the Easter Egg dying fiasco - I bask in the messiness of it! We're all different - it's what makes the world go round...right?!

New Years Eve is yet another holiday that I have strong feelings about (I bet you're quickly learning that I have strong feelings about a lot of things huh?!). I am a firm believer in the statement "What you're doing at midnight is a picture into the next year of your life". Silly, I know. Superstitious - YES. Anyway you look at it - I believe it. I REFUSE to be without my husband and all children at midnight. I don't mind if we're out (although I would prefer to be at home), as long as we're all together. My ideal night would be to stay at home - possibly have one or two other couples over - and just play games, watch movies, and eat good food together. Snuggle my kids into bed with us and feel the safety and security that togetherness brings.

What am I going to do when my kids get old enough to want to go to New Years Eve parties with their friends? I'm not sure. Will I make them come home before midnight instead of staying the night? Possibly. I suppose we'll just see what my kids are like, who they are wanting to spend it with, and what the plans are. Hopefully they'll just want to throw the party at our house!! :0)

My husband and I struggled with this difference shortly before we got married. He was a partier. I was not. We did not spend our first New Years together while we were dating. He did end up calling me sometime in the night to come pick him up from the party and bring him back to my parents house...not a good situation. Our second New Years was spent together on the beaches of Hawaii watching fireworks. It was a good night. Our third New Years was a little over a month before we got married. We both spent it in STL, but him with his friends, and me with mine. Again, he called shortly after midnight for me to come pick him up. After we were husband and wife he grew up and realized that New Years in not all about partying, but about bringing in a New Year with the ones that you love.

Every December 31st is the start of another challenging year. It's a year that we'll go through ups and downs in our marriage. It's a year of disappointments and joys. It's a year of learning to be better parents while making some mistakes along the way. It's a year with losses and gains. You can be assured of these things no matter what year it's going to be.

Whatever you're doing a midnight I hope that you are enjoying yourself and those around you!