New Year’s Eve 2010

A simple contentment filled our home as the kids reveled in the extra time with their daddy.  Every night during his break was family game night, and, of course, we broke out the Wii on New Year’s Eve.  Matt and I smiled across the room at one another as our four-year-old threw strikes and made every spare on a game we had less than a week while we were still trying to figure out our own techniques.  Then we all made the haul upstairs, and we proceeded with the routine of getting three little ones in bed.

Of course because we had plans to enjoy our New Year’s Eve together, alone on the couch, watching a movie  and munching on snacks, Chloe decided she wasn’t going to fall asleep.  Repeated trips to her room, the cushion in her rocking chair worn, finally proved successful, and our toddler drifted to sleep around ten that night.

My plan to make hors d’oeuvres and cinnamon rolls from scratch to share on New Year’s morning didn’t seem that important anymore given the lateness of the evening, so we proceeded to the couch, ripping open a box of crackers.  We popped in our movie and snuggled under blankets, our own tiredness hanging heavy on our eyelids.  Yet we were awake enough to stop the DVD at quarter ’til midnight, grab two glasses and our sparkling cider, and find Dick Clark on the TV to help us count down the seconds until the New Year.  At midnight, we gave each other the obligatory kiss and watched as confetti danced over Time Square.

We resumed our positions under the blankets and returned to our movie, the first half of it behind us.  And when it was over, we put our glasses in the sink and headed up the stairs, the first time in 2011.  And once again, we snuggled under blankets.

Looking back over the night, if New Year’s Eve is any indication of this coming year, I think we’ll be all right.  After all, we just might stay awake for movies now.

Don’t forget to come back tomorrow and link up for the first installment of Journeys!