What New Year’s Eve Means To Me

New Year’s Eve has a special place in my memory. You see, when I was a boy, my extended family would all come to our house for a family reunion. It was so exciting to have my grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins all “crammed” in our house. I’m sure it involved a lot of stress and preparation on my mom’s part, but I was too young to appreciate any of that. All I knew was that it was going to be a couple of days of fun! While my cousins may share the same memories, I’m sure the rest of you will recall similar memories.

• One of the most exciting things about New Year’s Eve was that I got to deliver my paper route at 11:00 p.m. I was a paperboy, and they would drop off the newspapers for New Year’s Day at around 11:00 p.m. My cousins and I would pack up my newspaper bag and get finished with my route just before midnight.
• I remember everyone complaining about the smell of sauerkraut. One of the things my mom would make every New Year’s was sauerkraut. I think she was the only one who ate it. 🙂
• I remember setting up the basement to feed 22 of us (before marriages added more).
• I remember staying up and watching the ball drop at midnight. The adults were upstairs watching the “Lawrence Welk” countdown, and the kids watched the “Dick Clark” countdown in the basement.
• I remember after eating, the men would make their way to the living room, sprawl out on the chairs and the kids on the floor, and watch the bowl games in between naps while the women did dishes!
• But the one thing that struck me this New Year’s Eve is that of those who met at our house every New Year’s Eve, only one aunt and one uncle are still with us. My sister and I and our cousins have lost our grandparents, parents, aunts, and uncles.

When you’re young, it seems like things stay the same and will never change; time moves so slowly. Then you blink, and a lifetime of change has occurred! And it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that it won’t be much longer for death to claim another generation, this time, my generation! What I hope my sister, all my cousins, and I do is prepare for another “family reunion” on the other side of eternity.

To my sister and all my cousins…I won’t be with you this New Year’s Eve, but I’ll be smiling as I think about you and all the good times we had together on this date.