Memorable New Year’s Moments
The party’s over. Has enough time passed that you can now look at New Year’s Eve with some perspective? Here are some of your tales of ringing out the old and ringing in the new …
Jamie: “I dated Sam for two years. This New Year’s we had plans to go to St. Louis for a friend’s party. He was going to pick me up at 7 p.m. for the two-hour drive. He was also giving a friend a lift. Well, seven came and went, along with eight, nine and 10. He finally called at 10:30 and said he’d driven to St. Louis to drop off his friend and was coming back to get me when his car broke down. He said he’d been stranded for hours. He couldn’t get his car fixed and he was forced to stay in St. Louis overnight. He was so upset. A week later, I was putting away his laundry. In his drawer was a receipt from a very nice hotel for a suite and room service on New Year’s Eve. His ‘friend’ was Maria. She was obviously his New Year’s resolution.”
Chessie: “My boyfriend and I had only been dating a month but we were already madly in love. We got all dressed up and went to a very classy gala with two other couples. Just being with the most wonderful man I ever met was enough for me, but when he looked into my eyes and sang ‘I Swear’ while we were slow dancing, well, I had tears in my eyes! I hope his heart-melting voice will be singing to me for a long, long time.”
Chuck: “Because of our jobs, my wife and I live over 700 miles apart. This was our first New Year’s Eve apart in 22 years. It was quiet, but my day was made when my wife called at 11 p.m. We spent the next hour talking. The great part of this pleasure is that my wife has the sexiest voice of anyone I know. It wasn’t the same as being with her, but it was a small piece of heaven on earth.”
Mark: “When it comes to dating, 1995 was a mediocre year. So, instead of faking it through a New Year’s party that I had no interest in, I went to the Blackhawks game by myself. I had a great seat, met some fun people at the game and watched the Hawks win 5 to 0. I got home by 11 and watched my favorite part of ‘The Shawshank Redemption,’ the scene where Tim Robbins tells Morgan Freeman it was time to ‘Get busy living or get busy dying.’ New Year’s day I got up at 8 a.m. and took a long fitness walk to my health club. I did a bunch of errands and relaxed by myself the rest of the day. I’m not really concerned about what happens to my relationship situation in 1996 because I’ll be working on improving myself. It’s time to get busy living.”
Marsha: “My husband and I started dating as teenagers and got married when we were very young. Now, four children and four grandchildren later, we look back on fondly over 40 years of sharing exciting New Year’s celebrations. This Thanksgiving I had to undergo emergency surgery for a life-threatening condition. It has been a long and painful recuperation. Instead of our typical New Year’s Eve, we spent a quiet evening at home with our son, daughter-in-law and three grandchildren. We ordered healthy take-out from a local restaurant. In the past, we always made a big deal out of kissing and toasting each other as the old year came to a close. But this time, we both fell asleep before midnight. No matter, in the morning, at the beginning of the new year and the rest of our lives together, we had our kiss. We are so grateful to be together. This was the best celebration we ever had.”
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