New Year's Reflections (or, How I Know I Am a Grown-up)

I remember when New Year's Eve was a big flipping deal.

When I was a little girl, New Year's Eve was a coveted opportunity to stay up late with the grown-ups to watch the ball drop in Times Square while Dick Clark hosted "New Year's Rockin' Eve". Dick Clark was young and  "cool" and American Bandstand was what everyone watched on Saturdays.

When I was 17, New Year's Eve was a chance to attend (or host) an awesome party with all my friends. Our parties were booze-free (if the parents were home to chaperone, which they usually were) but my friends were so much fun that we didn't need to drink to have fun. And of course we had to watch the ball drop at midnight in Times Square, with Dick Clark. American Bandstand was still on TV but I never watched it because it wasn't "cool".

When I was in college, New Year's Eve had evolved to drinking at some friend's house party. The drinking age in New Jersey had changed from 18 to 21 but I had turned 18 before the law changed, as had most of my friends, so we were "legal" and taking full advantage of it. I had the same friends from high school so being able to hang out with them on a break from college was a blast. Dick Clark was always part of our midnight count-down... we turned down the Jethro Tull and Pink Floyd on the record player (remember albums?) long enough to watch Dick as the balled dropped in Times Square.

When I was in my 20's, out in the corporate workforce and sharing an apartment with my best friend, New Year's Eve was ALL about the partying with other single 20-somethings. We'd get dolled up in our sluttiest outfits, and either go out to a club or host our own kegger (with champagne for the Big Moment of course). If we were in relationships, we'd have a New Year's kiss lined up for sure... and if we were between relationships, we'd find someone to kiss anyway. And yes, at midnight Dick Clark would be the focal point... after all, he was the only one paying attention to what time it was!

As I got into my 30's, if a friend (work friends, mostly... I'd lost touch with most of the old crowd from high school) was having a party to celebrate the New Year, I'd go and enjoy myself... although I wasn't drinking as much as I did when I was in my 20's. I was beginning to notice my alcohol tolerance dropping and I was also much more conscious of the risks of drinking and driving, not only for my own sake but I actually began to feel like I had a responsibility not to kill someone else. If I was in a serious relationship, New Year's Eve meant not only a kiss at zero hour, but probably something a bit hotter, too (yowza!) Of course, our old pal Dick Clark would be there to let us know when the New Year was upon us.

Now I'm in my 40's. My MID 40's, if you want to get technical about it; I am officially at "mid-life". The only reason I'm not having a crisis about it is that I get to write out any issues I'm having about it, so they don't bottle up.

In my 40's I seem to have been "between relationships" for longer than I care to think about, which means there will be no passionate kissing this year as the clock strikes 12:00 and the ball once again drops in Times Square. New Year's Eve now means taking it easy... going out for Chinese food (with my mother) and catching a fun movie (this year it's likely to be either Rumor Has It or The Family Stone, because New Year's Eve should be about laughter). No one I know is throwing any parties... most of them are home with their husbands and kids. I could care less if I have a glass of champagne in my hand. Mostly I want to avoid the crazy drunk drivers if I'm out on the roads at all.

It seems I am now a grown-up myself. The need for comfort now overrules the need to party hearty on New Year's Eve. When the hell did THAT happen? Although I don't normally feel "older", this realization is enough to make me feel my mid-life age. It's that same need for comfort that makes me veto the idea, every December, of actually going IN to New York City to be AT Times Square instead of watching it on TV. I only live in New Jersey but who needs the hassle of those crowds?

Of course, one person who never seems to age is Dick Clark. Last year, Dick was absent from the December 31st festivities, having suffered a stroke earlier that month. But according to the latest news reports, he will be on hand once again to ring in the New Year's Rockin' Eve (for the 34th year) in Times Square. He's 76 (so he claims)... and I'll bet he still looks at least 20 years younger than that.

And yes, as midnight approaches, I will be watching Dick Clark on TV in Times Square. Just in case this year is his last one on camera in Times Square. Because it won't be the same without him when he's gone.

If you're far away but still have fond memories of New Year's Eve in New York City, you can watch the celebrations from Times Square via Earthcam's live webcast!

Post 12/31 update:
Read about Dick's 2005 TV appearance. I only caught a few minutes of Dick on live TV just before midnight and he looked great but his speech is still quite impaired. It was kind of sad to see him in that condition but I give him a lot of credit for being willing to come back this year.