HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

The sisters and I plus spouses had another great New Year’s celebration this year. We tried to figure out how many years we have been doing this, but the best estimate we could come up with was over twenty years.

We don’t even remember the first one, but we do know where it was: Fairfield Glade, TN. MA and Chun (her husband) had bought a share of a two bedroom condo and we decided to spend New Year’s Eve there and go to one of the country clubs for a party. We packed our party outfits and away we went. At that time all of us were living in or near Nashville and we drove the two hours to the “Glade.”

Every year we swapped out on who got the 2 bedrooms and who had to sleep downstairs on the pull out sofa. Eventually, the genius and I ended up down there all the time because he gets up so early. He would pull the mattress out of the sofa and put it on the floor while I took the cushions and made my bed right next to it. The only drawback to this arrangement was that we couldn’t go to bed until everyone else did and I had to get up early, something I am averse to.

And we did stay up late, too. We had some great times at the country club dances, eating fabulous meals, dancing usually to forties and fifties music, and in general just making merry for hours. At midnight the champagne was brought out, the silly hats donned, the confetti was thrown, and the kissing began. I don’t remember what year we began to slow down, but at some point we stopped going to the club and we began to eat out and then go back to MA and Chun’s and bring in the New Year at their house. (By that time the two of them had moved up there for good and built a house. BJ and Jerry actually moved there also, but they have since moved back to Hendersonville.)

I remember when we saw the new millennium in up there in 2000. We had all been worried about the Y2K effect, and at midnight all the lights went out. I do recall being a little scared, but they soon came back on. Chun had sneaked out to the garage and turned the main switch off.

By that time we had begun to play games or listen to Lewis Grizzard tapes to pass the time until 12 o’clock. I don’t know when we began to go to bed before midnight. I think one time we saw the ball drop at Times Square at 11:00 and decided we could go ahead and retire for the night on Eastern time.

This year was no exception. The genius had a cold and went upstairs early (9:00). The rest of us did make it until almost 12:00 and then called it a night. By the time we were snuggled in bed, the fireworks began outside. We are just old fogies and not ashamed to admit it!

Another big part of our 2-3 day get together, which we now spend at a different house each year, is the New Year’s Day meal. About one o’clock we sit down to pork roast, turnip greens (which MA and Chun pick and freeze each summer), black eyed peas, sweet potato casserole, and cornbread. For dessert this year we had banana pudding. It is one of my all time favorite meals. This year everything was particularly good.

So we have celebrated another new year together and we look forward to many more. Next year, after a three year layoff, we will go back to the mountains at Fairfield.