This is my first blog for 2008. Earl and I spent New Year’s Eve with old friends. (I’m talking how long I’ve know them here; not their ages.) We’ve ushered in the New Year with them before, so there was reminiscing not only about what we did this past year, but also what we did in years past.
“Do you remember when our kids were young?” I asked Noreen. “We’d fix dinner for everyone at one of our houses, then put the kids to bed and stay up until midnight playing pinochle.” Noreen nodded and smiled. Of course she remembered.
Come to think of it, this get-together wasn’t so different. Except that the kids grew up. The four of us played dominoes instead of pinochle, and I — as usual — was the Greatest Loser. (I’m talking worst score here; not my personal style.) And we counted down the final seconds of the old year with Dick Clark.
As for 2007, here are some things I remember. Tahiti is wet in January, but that didn’t stop Mark, Adaire, Earl, and me from having a wondering time. My son’s company moved from one location to another. It seemed as if it went on forever. Some candidates began running for President last March. They’re still running. Kevin and I saw Eric Clapton together. Keith and I visited Graceland; Earl and I visited a bison preserve. We made our annual Thanksgiving visit to relatives in Denver. I got close to nature communing with Porky the Squirrel, catching a b-i-g fish, and swimming with Nemo the dolphin. I bought a fast car. So far it and I haven’t gotten a speeding ticket.
What I remember most, however, is that everyone on both Earl’s and my sides of our family laughed hard and long when we were together. It didn’t matter if there were only a few of us or the whole gang. Laughter filled our year. I’ve never thought about it before, but maybe that’s what people mean when they wish each other “Happy New Year.”
Leave a Reply