December ended with a terrible—albeit short lived—cold for my son, a much longer-lived and intense cold for my husband, and a moderate cold for me.
New Year’s eve, however, was wonderfully uneventful! We were all feeling better and my son stayed up until just before midnight. In fact when the ball was about to drop in Time Square I quietly snuck upstairs and kissed my husband while he rocked our son to sleep. Honestly, it was one of the best NYE’s ever!
New Year’s has a particularly sweet spot in my memory. One of my husband’s and I first dates was on NYE 2004 and we rang in 2005 together. Although we didn’t start dating seriously until about a month or so later it is a great memory. A year later he and I were celebrating in Morro Bay, CA. We left a local bar just before midnight and headed to the famous Morro Rock. There, as we were watching the waves ripple in the bay, he proposed! We rang in 2006 as a newly engaged couple. Last year was special too. I was expecting our first child and was as big as a house! My parents were visiting and we were all anxiously awaiting the arrival of the baby. We knew 2011 was going to be an incredible year no matter what; and it was. 2011 brought with it our son. Our marriage grew stronger despite the challenges of being far from home and managing our busy lives. We laugh more, we play—a lot—more, and we generally feel more fulfilled than ever before.
As I walked back down the stairs during those first few minutes of 2012, a tear rolled down my cheek. I was bit sad to let go of 2011, it felt nearly perfect and now it was over. Silly, I know, but I just couldn’t imagine a better year. As I reflect now, I realize I’ve had many moments that have felt like they couldn’t get better—and yet, they have. I sat back down to watch the Dick Clark’s NYE and smiled. My husband came downstairs, fixed us a drink, and we made a toast to 2012, here’s to better!