NEW YEAR’S EVE

My first husband and I were never big party goers. We never went out on New Year’s Eve. As our daughters got bigger, we started staying up to watch the New Year’s Eve shows on TV. I would buy sparkling cider and we’d celebrate with toasts at midnight. I had only done this for a couple of years. It turned into a girls’ night when my husband stopped staying up with us.

One year, as New Years approached, I had not really given it any thought. The girls were about 8 and 10. My younger daughter asked if we were ready for New Years? I asked what she was talking about and she said, "You know, the sparkling cider!" I had no idea we had a started a tradition, but apparently we had. I rushed out that afternoon and when the crystal ball dropped at midnight at Times Square, we were ready with our champaign glasses filled to the brim with sparkling cider.

My daughters are grown and married with their own children now, but we still get together for girl’s nights with a video, popcorn and yep, sparkling cider!

-Joan Enguita, www.joanenguita.com

Published in Heart of the Holidays