One Woman's Perspective
Last Week's Column

New Year's Ramblings
by Kira Sampson

ew Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day are my two least favorite holidays of the year. Now, I’ll admit, when I was younger, I used to enjoy partying on New Year’s Eve. I remember one time (when I was much younger) I went to a formal affair on New Year’s Eve with my then-fiancé, complete with tux (him) and long, formal gown (me). He was a university professor, and this soiree was at the faculty dining hall. We were seated at a table with several other couples, most of whom were a great deal older than we were. I only remember two things about that night: one, we were all given party hats of one kind or another, mine being a glittery cardboard "tiara", and the lovely, sweet elderly woman who sat next to me said I looked just like a princess. The second thing is, the band was asked to play a waltz, so they played "Lucille" (Kenny Rogers’ song, remember? You picked a fine time to leave me, Lucille...). Now, it's hardly a major revelation, but I had never before realized that that song was a waltz. I was expecting Strauss or the Minute Waltz, maybe.

Such was my wild youth. I’m sure we had champagne (or some kind of bubbly) that night, and this being back in the late Seventies (oh, my God -- can it have been 20 years ago?! Horrors!), there wasn’t the kind of awareness there is now about drunk driving. We made it home safely, though, and on subsequent New Year’s Eves, for the most part I decided it was much safer to party at home. The last ten years or so, I’ve just said the heck with it and gone to bed well before midnight.

New Year’s Day is another matter. It’s a holiday, but it really isn’t a family-gathering type of holiday, although there is the feasting aspect. I grew up down South, and we always had to have hog jowls and black-eyed peas. Now, I don’t know exactly what hog jowls are, and I don’t think I want to know. But my mother always said you had to eat one black-eyed pea for every day of the new year, so you would have good luck every day. I don’t know about the luck part — the only tangible benefit (?) I can see from eating that many black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day is flatulence on January second.

My mother had another superstition about New Year’s Day, handed down to her by her mother. You aren’t supposed to wash clothes on New Year’s — if you do, someone in the family will die that year.

Now, why does it always seem that my laundry has piled up to the point where I just have to wash on New Year’s? I usually wash anyway, just to show that I’m not superstitious, and then feel guilty about it. Isn’t that silly? But you know, come to think of it, on New Year’s Day 1996 I did wash clothes, and this year my cousin, who is several years younger than I am, died suddenly of a heart attack. Hmmmm.... do you suppose it’s my fault?

But the main reason I don’t like New Year’s is the resolutions. We're all supposed to resolve to be a better person throughout the coming year. It seems to me that all this tradition does is foster guilt. I mean, who lives up to their resolutions — on an ongoing basis, anyway? And is the middle of winter really the time to try to improve yourself? The weather is miserable, your activities are restricted, and sooner or later you’re probably going to come down with a cold (or worse). Any of those factors can spell death to those New Year’s resolutions.

If you’re like me, when you’re motivated to do a little self-improving, you’ll do it no matter what time of year it is. And if you’re not motivated, it ain’t gonna happen, New Year’s or no. So my New Year’s resolution this year is to stamp out New Year’s resolutions. Want to join me?

Kira Sampson is a writer, homeschool mother, news editor, and editor/publisher of two newsletters, one for her local homeschool group and the other for a local writer's group.

She is also one of the Founders of VegSource. Her column, One Woman's Perspective, is a regular feature of VegSource On-Line Magazine.