Auld Lang sighhhh....

Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind?

For New Year’s Eve, my hubby dearest and I watched the fireworks over the Sacramento River at 9pm, snug and warm in our Subaru parked at Raley’s Field with a thousand other watchers. Our kids sleeping in the backseat, including the dog. Oh sure, we could have gone to a crazy party and drank ourselves to oblivion along with 99% of the population…but that wasn’t us anymore. Now we are just two loving parents whose late night escapades include feeding, burping, and changing diapers.

As we marveled at the spectacular light show against the city backdrop, we wondered when was the last time we actually partied on New Year’s Eve. It certainly wasn’t last year: playing board games with other parents while the kids watched TV isn’t actually partying. I can’t even remember what we did the year before that…but I’m pretty certain we were not wearing party hats and throwing confetti at each other. New Year’s Eve 2007 was almost a party, we were in some street in the Philippines, counting down the seconds along with other friends and many strangers…then went back to our hotel room to play cards with friends. 2006…we were in LA, and watched fireworks with friends, baby Sophia in tow…that was fun…but no wild crazy party.

No, all the wild partying and crazy morning afters where we couldn’t remember what we did the night before all happened…before the baby. Before parenthood, before being mommy and daddy…we were party animals. That last crazy New Year’s Eve Party at our apartment so long ago, where limbo rocked and champagne bottles rolled and neighbors threatened to call the cops, that party now serves as a reference point to the before and after of our lives. We think back and sigh; we look at our kids and sigh; we listen to the escapades of our single friends with no kids and sigh. Auld Lang Syne indeed, those were the days.