Member-only story
I’m Reclaiming New Year’s Eve for Single People
We have as much right to this holiday as couples do.
I’m not going to lie. I really want to stay at home. I want to curl up on my couch in pants that have an elastic waistband. Maybe I could get drunk off wine and perform all of Les Miserables by myself. It’s happened before. Twice.
I’m not going to do that, though. I’m going to venture out into public for the first time in 20 years. It should be fine. I think.
When I was married, I ignored the holiday. My husband worked odd hours and rarely ever had New Year’s Day off so it meant a lot of ends of the year on the couch with a bottle of champagne long after he’d gone to bed.
Once I got divorced, the prospect of the night depressed me. Last year, I went to bed around 10:30. I woke up at midnight to popping firecrackers in my neighborhood and rolled back over. That was all I had in me.
To be honest, New Year’s Eve freaks me out. It’s a bit much and I tend to suffer from sensory overload. Large groups of people in tight spaces wear me out.
