As the ball drops in New York tonight (and the peach drops in Atlanta, for a little Local Flavor), we’ll be saying farewell not only to 2009, but to the Two-Thousand Oughts... the first decade of the New Millennium.
It’s hard to believe that it was ten years ago when all of that pre-millennial nonsense was going on as we prepared to close out the penultimate year of the Twentieth Century. Y2K computer paranoia. Stockpiling food in the basement. We’re all gonna die! (Little did we know what real horrors awaited us a scant 21 months later.)
The main excitement back then, of course, was seeing the Odometer o’ th’ Years tick over, placing a two in first position: an event that took place uneventfully. We’ve all had ten years to get used to it... hell, there are plenty of people who have lived their entire lives in the Two Thousands... but who among us doesn’t remember how strange it was to see that date for the first time, whether on a newspaper or on a coin? Two, followed by three zeroes? MM, in Roman numerals? Now, of course, it’s all Old Hat.
But now 2009 is making its last few circuits of the drain as it prepares to float down the Sewer of Years. Let’s give it a proper sendoff, shall we?
For us, 2009 marked the end of my lengthy career with the Great Corporate Salt Mine, as I elected to retire rather than face yet another in a long series of household relocations. Since then, I’ve found plenty of stuff to keep me busy, much of it involving writing.
This was the year of the Great Mother-Daughter Bonding Experience. Echoing our trip to Japan last year, She Who Must Be Obeyed helped Elder Daughter celebrate her thirtieth (!) birthday by sojourning with her in Arizona. And with the Mistress of Sarcasm now back in Atlanta, the bonding business extends to both our girls.
In addition to Elder Daughter’s big birthday, this year we celebrated the thirty-fifth anniversary of my graduation from college (involving, per our custom, a trip to Princeton for Reunions) and our thirty-second wedding anniversary. But as anniversaries go, the one that means the most to me at this moment is our Meet-A-Versary, for December 31 is the very date on which I met my beloved She Who Must Be Obeyed. For it was on this very day in 1975 - thirty-four years ago! - that the two of us first laid eyes on each other down in Sweat City, Texas... and our respective worlds haven’t been the same since.
She Who Must Be Obeyed... even after all these years. (Especially after all these years.)
As is our custom, we’ll celebrate the arrival of the New Year with a small group of friends. Dinner, movie, champagne (the Good Stuff!) at midnight. Perhaps a few riffs on Beatles RockBand, just for shits ’n’ grins. But no heavy-duty carousing... it makes the brain hurt too much.
As we take our tentative steps into the second decade of the Twenty-First Century (by the secular calendar, anyway), let me extend my traditional wishes to you, my Esteemed Readers... and to my friends, family, and (of course!) my wonderful bride and our daughters... for a 2010 filled with health, happiness, and love, without limit to any good thing.
It’s hard to believe that it was ten years ago when all of that pre-millennial nonsense was going on as we prepared to close out the penultimate year of the Twentieth Century. Y2K computer paranoia. Stockpiling food in the basement. We’re all gonna die! (Little did we know what real horrors awaited us a scant 21 months later.)
The main excitement back then, of course, was seeing the Odometer o’ th’ Years tick over, placing a two in first position: an event that took place uneventfully. We’ve all had ten years to get used to it... hell, there are plenty of people who have lived their entire lives in the Two Thousands... but who among us doesn’t remember how strange it was to see that date for the first time, whether on a newspaper or on a coin? Two, followed by three zeroes? MM, in Roman numerals? Now, of course, it’s all Old Hat.
But now 2009 is making its last few circuits of the drain as it prepares to float down the Sewer of Years. Let’s give it a proper sendoff, shall we?
For us, 2009 marked the end of my lengthy career with the Great Corporate Salt Mine, as I elected to retire rather than face yet another in a long series of household relocations. Since then, I’ve found plenty of stuff to keep me busy, much of it involving writing.
This was the year of the Great Mother-Daughter Bonding Experience. Echoing our trip to Japan last year, She Who Must Be Obeyed helped Elder Daughter celebrate her thirtieth (!) birthday by sojourning with her in Arizona. And with the Mistress of Sarcasm now back in Atlanta, the bonding business extends to both our girls.
In addition to Elder Daughter’s big birthday, this year we celebrated the thirty-fifth anniversary of my graduation from college (involving, per our custom, a trip to Princeton for Reunions) and our thirty-second wedding anniversary. But as anniversaries go, the one that means the most to me at this moment is our Meet-A-Versary, for December 31 is the very date on which I met my beloved She Who Must Be Obeyed. For it was on this very day in 1975 - thirty-four years ago! - that the two of us first laid eyes on each other down in Sweat City, Texas... and our respective worlds haven’t been the same since.
She Who Must Be Obeyed... even after all these years. (Especially after all these years.)
As is our custom, we’ll celebrate the arrival of the New Year with a small group of friends. Dinner, movie, champagne (the Good Stuff!) at midnight. Perhaps a few riffs on Beatles RockBand, just for shits ’n’ grins. But no heavy-duty carousing... it makes the brain hurt too much.
As we take our tentative steps into the second decade of the Twenty-First Century (by the secular calendar, anyway), let me extend my traditional wishes to you, my Esteemed Readers... and to my friends, family, and (of course!) my wonderful bride and our daughters... for a 2010 filled with health, happiness, and love, without limit to any good thing.
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