Ordinarily, I'm not a big fan of New Year's Eve. Not because of the day exactly, but because of the pressure to take a day and make it into a day. New Year's Eve as a holiday seems to revolve around two things: Unrealistically high expectations and a vague but persistent pressure to have fun, which is never a good combination, fun-wise. I can't speak for everyone, but for me the whole thing just sort of turns into something else that we have to plan and prepare for (planning and preparation are also usually not a great combination fun-wise). We are all striving for some unknown, magical New Year's ideal. And honestly, does anyone's new year's shenanigans ever live up to the hype?
So rather than focusing on the night, I'm going to focus on the year. As far as years go, 2013 was a pretty good one for us. Layla lost six teeth and can now officially operate an iPhone more efficiently than I can. Both kids are growing faster than their shoes or pants can keep up with, Ben in particular who is closing in on Layla size-wise. Josh and I got to see our favorite band twice this year (with me screaming like a fourteen year old at a One Direction concert both times, naturally). We took a trip up to Denver for one of the shows and were able to meet up with some friends and, thanks to our parents, enjoy a couple of kid-free days together. I had a successful year at school and Josh had a successful first year at his new job. The kids started gymnastics. I got a paper published through UNM and created a guest napkin for Matta Napkin (I actually found out about both opportunities on the same day and was significantly more excited about the napkin because they. Are. Awesome). We had our good days and our bad days. We endured twerking and selfies, and people saying "literally" and "epic" entirely too much, in varying degrees of acceptance. But whether our days were good, bad, or entirely too full of Miley, they were all so fast. Intellectually I realize that time goes by faster the older you get, but actually beginning to experience that sensation of time being in perpetual fast-forward is unsettling. My babies are turning into people and Josh and I are getting ready to celebrate ten years together. My life is reaching a very adult place. My kids will never be this age again, and I'll (for better or worse) never be at this point in my life again. And honestly? Sometimes that's scary as hell. So much can happen or change in a year, a fact which will never cease to amaze (and terrify) me.
Which brings me back to New Year's Eve. If time goes by so fast that sometimes years feel like days, what's the point of putting so much pressure on one night? Well, this year I resolve not to resolve, but to enjoy (or tackle head-on, depending on the day) my life in the coming year. And for right now, I resolve to enjoy this lovely song while trying to ignore Zooey's blatant bossiness and the fact that I feel like I've seen nothing but her face for the whole year (which, ironically, makes her perfect for a end-of-year blog).
Happy New Year's guys. Bring it on, 2014.
