The Tone

Inspirational song: Superstition (Stevie Wonder)

Most of my life is governed by reason, by things that can be empirically proven. I'm a big fan of science and fact. But being a fallible human, I leave room for a little looseness around the edges on special occasions, for things I can only verify from anecdotes. New Year's Eve is my very favorite holiday, based solely upon superstition and fancy. It means the world to me. Or more accurately, it means The Year to me.

I noticed a pattern in my early teens, that what I was doing at midnight on New Year's Eve set the tone for the entire year. I will allow it might be a self-fulfilling prophecy, but the coincidence level is very high on this one. It works very well. For instance, when I was thirteen, my mother and I spent the evening with one of her best friends, at a church group party. I remember looking at my watch, and seeing that it was midnight, and tugging on my mother's sleeve to point it out to her. The group was in the middle of a prayer, and my mother gave me the universal wave for "don't interrupt these people; we are guests." That year, I went through the classes required for all of us kids to join the church we normally attended, and with my classmates, I became an official member. A few years later, when I was a freshman in college, I was in the air at the stroke of midnight, flying back from a marching band trip to the football bowl game to spend what was left of my holiday with my family. That year, I was in perpetual motion, traveling with the grand freedom that eighteen year olds appreciate so well. A few years after that, well, let's skip the details and say that I spent a quiet holiday with my college boyfriend, and darned if we didn't become parents that year. Party evenings become social years, homebody nights become lonely years. It works every time.

I don't know how much of it is consciously my own doing. Sometimes I don't even recognize it until well into spring or summer, and when I see a pattern, it occurs to me the think back. I will try to remember to update you, months from now, if it works again this year. But for now, I have to dress for a party. Here's to a good year with friends and family!