I think this means I am old and boring

December 31, 2009

A rundown of tonight's festivities:

3:30 p.m. My husband goes to Urgent Care and is diagnosed with strep throat.

4:30 p.m. Since we have the same symptoms, I go to Urgent Care. I am diagnosed with strep throat.

5:05 p.m. I drop off my prescription at Walgreens.

5:15 p.m. I am really craving a burrito from Chipotle. I mean desperately craving. What the heck, it's a holiday, why not go crazy. I have a burrito. It's delicious.

5:40 p.m. I pick up our prescriptions at Walgreens.

6:00 p.m. Sparkling juice toast with the kids, husband and mother-in-law. My middle son toasts with strawberry milk because he does not like juice.

6:30 p.m. My husband, who wants us to go out tonight, lies down on the bed. He is "just resting."

7:00 p.m. The two younger kids are asleep. My husband is still "resting." I wake him up to tell him I do not really feel like going out because my ears and throat hurt and I'm tired. In that case, he decides, he's going to bed, because he has not gotten a good night's sleep in days.

7:40 p.m. My husband comes downstairs to take his medicine, then goes to bed.

7:50 p.m. I clean the bathroom.

7:55 p.m. In a moment of honest reflection, I realize I would rather be cleaning my bathroom than be out tonight with all the crazies.

8:00 p.m. I start the dishwasher.

8:10 p.m. A rousing game of UNO commences in the kitchen, with the only people still awake in the house: my mother-in-law, my 7-year-old son, and me.

9:00 p.m. We watch the ball drop in Times Square online via streaming video. We comment on how cold the revelers look. We tell each other "Happy New Year!" and give hugs.

9:02 p.m. Back to the UNO game.

10:00 p.m. Everyone else is in bed. The house is quiet. I'm on my computer, wondering if I will be awake at midnight to ring in the new year...with the dogs. Never mind, even they are asleep.

But really, it doesn't matter. Whether I'm asleep or awake, midnight will come and go. I think back on New Year's Eve celebrations of the past. A few are memorable, most are not, and some are memorably disappointing.

Maybe part of getting old and boring is that you don't get all bent out of shape trying to make a particular day into something special. Instead you let the special moments come to you when they darn well please.

Here's wishing you lots of joyful and meaningful moments in 2010, spread throughout the year, and most likely when you least expect them.