New Year’s Eve was quiet here. Historically I always stay home so as to not deal with the crazies out on the streets. And parties ceased to entertain me long ago. For several years we would have a friend or two come to dinner and we would sit by the fire and visit. As years have worn on, we began to not wait until midnight to go to bed. We might watch the ball drop on the tele in New York and call it a night. This year was kind of different. A dear friend came by for a visit. Her brother has just died, and she was worn out from the family drama surrounding his death. Her emotions were still pretty raw, and she was tired and so we just let her talk. When she left, we went to bed. It was 9:00. At midnight the skies outside our bedroom window lit up and let us know the earth had finished its annual trip around the sun. Then back to sleep. Nothing particularly special about the evening. One more year behind me, one less year ahead of me.
