It seems remarkable that we have already lived through the first twenty years of the new millennium. I remember all the fears at the end of 1999 with the idea that computers would not understand the year "00" and that disasters would ensue. My oldest son was born in 1999 and on New Year's Eve that year, we went to a party with him and my sister and brother-in-law but Anthony got fussy and so we left the party before midnight and were home by the time the year 2000 arrived. We filmed Anthony in his crib, whispering all the while that the new year had arrived and things seemed to be okay. The only nod we had made to the idea that you had to stock up with supplies in case the banking system crashed was that my husband bought a case of candles.
I have a traditional way of spending New Year's Eve. I don't like the big party thing and the intense desire to "have fun" so I have arrived at this -- I watch one of my favourite movies -- "The Apartment" with Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine and Fred MacMurray. I have a snack and a toast if I feel like it and then I go to bed. This year, I had done the above and at midnight, some firecrackers were sounding and Daisy got a little bit nervous (she can't hear, but I think she wanted to go to the bathroom) and so I took her out for a midnight stroll. There were a couple of parties going on in the neighbourhood and I saw people toasting in warm yellow light as Daisy and I lumbered along. She answered nature's call and then we came home and I snuggled in my bed and heard the neighbour's kids banging pots and playing hide and seek (which my sons used to indulge in when they were littler) and read Little Women until I felt sleepy.
When I was a young girl in Weyburn, I always imagined all these sophisticated people exchanging witty remarks at fancy parties with glasses of champagne (that tasted like Canada Dry Ginger Ale) and beautiful clothes and glittering jewels and I felt very frustrated being stuck in a little prairie town where there were no fancy sophisticated parties or ballrooms or glittering jewels. Then I went to a few big fancy events on New Year's Eve (not in Weyburn -- I never was invited to any glittering parties there) and realized that they weren't as great as I had imagined. My husband took me to a crowded event once in downtown Vancouver and while we were dancing, someone stepped on the hem of my dress and tore it and at midnight, when we tried to toast the new year, someone jostled my arm in the crowd and I spilled champagne on myself and my husband. Another year, we went with a bunch of friends to a nice restaurant, but one of my husband's buddies became intoxicated and ordered "shots" for everyone (which no one wanted) and then when the bill came, everyone saw that the shots he had ordered (several rounds for all of us) were part of the bill and everyone was very annoyed and there was an unpleasant argument about it. I don't know if there are parties like the ones I imagined where highly intelligent people discuss the events of the year and art and culture and philosophy and no one drinks too much or does anything crude or annoying and everyone knows how to dance and they play good music, but not too loud and then you walk home to your cool apartment with walls lined with books and you pet your dog (who doesn't need to answer the call of nature) and sit in front of the fire and read and then go to bed in between fresh crisp linen sheets and when you wake up on New Year's Day someone (who likes to cook) has just prepared a lovely breakfast with baked eggs and asparagus and hot coffee and all sorts of sliced fruit and you do the crossword puzzle (and it's challenging, but you get all the answers) and then go for a walk in the park where everyone looks interesting, dressed in tweed and brightly coloured toques and scarves, and they all have nice dogs who your dog likes and you go home and read Little Women and finish the coffee. And no one is homeless or hungry and we've figured out how to stop climate change and the population of chimpanzees and rhinoceros and frogs is increasing. Well, it's 2020 and let's see if we can make this world I'm describing a reality. Happy New Year!
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