Abraham Lincoln said that “the best thing about the future is that it comes only one day at a time.” That implies that time drips by like molasses - when in truth we seem to skip from one year to the next in the blink of an eye…or do we? I had a real sense of deja vu as I spent my New Years Day at Jim and Jan’s. This was where I was on the first of the year in 2007 as well, and it seemed like I had just been here - rooting through Jim’s CD’s and photos, worrying about Ashleigh because I hadn’t heard from her yet that afternoon, and filling out a similar posting to this one.
Then on the other hand, although it seemed like I had seamlessly leapt from one New Years Day to the next, it amazed me to reflect on everything the year had included. When I last sat in Jim’s dining room eating New Years pork, saurkraut, and ham, I had yet taken my incredible trips to California (twice!), Florida, Chicago, Myrtle Beach, and Virginia. I hadn’t yet spoken to 17 of my old friends whom I hadn’t seen in more than five years - or dated one of them. I had never felt the pain of a kidney stone, had an operation, or even checked into a hospital. I hadn’t shaken hands with Morrissey, met Caroline Kennedy or Sally Struthers or Tonya Harding in no particular order (along with a wealth of others).
I’ve already spent enough time reflecting on the year that was 2007 - namely in my annual Christmas newsletter seen here, so enough of that. The book is now closed on 2007. It has been shelved in a very prestigious place in my memory file and it has been amply documented on this website. Now what I have sitting before me is the book of 2008, with 365 very empty pages just waiting to be scrawled upon. So what will I do with them, you ask?
I figure that close to 275 of them will be filled with the horribly mundane aspects of life: getting up, going to work, coming home, eating, watching TV, checking my email and the internet, filling out this website…you know the drill. This type of activity encompasses the bulk of my life, and is generally the least memorable. But I figure, I’ve got to have about 90 days worth of excitement coming my way - or roughly 25% of the year. This includes my travel plans for the year and other exciting planned activities and adventures. None of it is solidified, so I won’t jinx any of it by fortune-telling just what excitement it all will hold, but I can say that I plan on taking my first trip abroad, which is both exciting and terrifying.
Considering I did so crappy on last year’s New Years challenges (with the exception of my vow to have a dozen reunions for which I scored 142% and my pledge to fill in the website daily which I maintained 100%), I’ll set my standards as low as they can go this year with the solemn (yeah right) promise to myself to drop about 15 pounds this month, fill in at least five postings per week, go for ten more reunions this year, and try to manage not to blow all of my money on DVDs. Other than that, I’ll just try to have a good deal of fun, excitement, and avoid as many of those ugly curveballs that life sometimes delivers.
As for this particular holiday (which is probably why you bothered to read any of this in the first place), I spent New Years Eve working just half a day going to stores in Vandalia and Kettering. On the way home, I stopped at CD Connection to pick up my last DVDs of the year An American Werewolf in London and season three of Happy Days. I chose to just lay around and bask in the laziness, final days of heavy eating, and getting ready for the get-together that night. My new garage door opener was installed, too. Remember those ugly curveballs I mentioned. This was one was over $350. A nice way to end the year, huh?
My cousin Chris and I had originally intended to have a ‘cousin’s’ New Years party, but since we hastily threw it together just before Christmas, there were several cousins who were out of town (where they live!) or already booked up for the holiday. We ended up having a decent - even if eclectic- turnout anyways with Chris and Sarah, Susan and Charles, Darlene, Jacob and Lauren, Zac, Ashleigh and Derek, and her friends Jamey, Andy, and Kyle joining Jackie and me as we celebrated the New Year.
Sarah gets fancy with the flip cup
Lauren and Jake enjoy some snacks
Charles and Zac plot the refrigerator assault while Darlene looks on
Susan is having a ball
There was drinking galore (for those of age, of course) via beer pong, flip cup, and Kings, loud raucous music, great snacks highlighted by Jackie’s spinach dip, Susan’s buffalo chicken dip, and Lauren’s homemade cookies, and Chris’s diving spectacle. This was the first New Years party that I had hosted since ‘98 into ‘99 - and the first one I had attended since ‘04 turned to ‘05. And wow, Dick Clark sure is lookin’ old!
New Years Rockin’ Chess with Chris and Zac
Sarah contributes to the delinquency of minors
Chris and I were victors at the beer pong table
The last picture of Ashleigh and Derek in 2007
Sarah and Chris seconds before the ball dropped
The first picture - and first kiss - of 2008
Those hooligans turned every one of my magnets upside-down. Just wait until I visit their house!
As I mentioned, New Years Day was spent at Jim and Jan’s again this year. And as usual, only the die-hard actually venture out at this early hour of the afternoon. Jackie, Grace, Ashleigh, and Derek all came along and we spent a few hours with the family (and of course, borrowed some more of Jim’s CD’s and looked through his photo albums for future use). The only cousins to actually make it were Susan and Charles and their kids, and Nikki and Eric. The latter two couldn’t help it, as they live there.
Me, Mom, and Jackie, pile in the New Years food
Susan, Charley, and Grandpa Murphy
The last supper
Grace and the gourmet New Years jam
The now traditional gathering of the Murphy siblings (with their Dad thrown in for good measure) in Jim’s living room
That night the snows and freezing cold came back to Dayton. I didn’t care for it.
Other than that, 2008 was off to a nice start. Let’s see what happens next…
Loved reading todays memories and enjoyed the pictures as well. Thanks.
Bev
January 3rd, 2008