New Year’s Eve has long been one of my least favorite days. There are two fairly universal traditions, drinking and staying up late. As someone who doesn’t drink at all, that holds no appeal for me. And as someone who has struggled with insomnia most of my life, I can’t get too excited about staying up late. I’m not a party pooper, I don’t want to ruin anyone else’s fun. I just keep to myself on New Year’s Eve.
When I was a kid, I actually liked this holiday. My parents hosted a party every year. They would let my brothers and me bring a TV upstairs and stay up late eating junk food from the party. As a kid, that’s about all you can ask for.
It’s weird, but even though I’m by myself and don’t choose to celebrate, I still feel pressure to stay up until at least midnight. There’s no challenge there for me. I put a decent amount of effort into falling asleep before midnight most nights. If I just relax and let nature take its course, I’ll easily see 3 AM. So, I think I will stay up. Why not?
The question is what to do with myself while I’m staying up. When I finish writing this, I think it’s going to come down to reading or watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer or both. (Yes, I’m watching Buffy twenty years too late. I have a feeling I’m going to write about it soon.) It’s not traditional, but it won’t be a bad night.
So, Happy New Year everybody. 2017 was a whole heck of a lot better than 2016 for me. Here’s hoping 2018 will be better for all of us.
