The first Christmas after the breakup was really rough. (I'm not going to mention her name in this post. She's already been the star of eight consecutive posts and made a cameo this week. With the exception of one more appearance in the future, I resolve not to write her name, or the version of her name that I am using for the purposes of the blog.) I hated that I missed getting to spend some part of the Christmas season with someone special and had actually been looking forward to buying her a present.
As usual, we spent Christmas Eve at Grandma Bend's house, but this year was going to be different. Toward the end of Christmas Day, we were going to drive to Missouri to see where my Aunt Cind and her husband Jid lived. The night before we left for Grandma Bend's, Mom had Dad, Loyd and me open the presents we were giving each other. Mom didn't explain why we were doing a really early Christmas that year. I didn't really think about it. We had a good time opening presents. I remember getting a couple of records that I had requested.
We got to Grandma Bend's for the traditional Christmas Eve. It was the first time we got to see Cind and Jid after they got married. Seeing them together reminded me that I had no one in my life to spend the special occasion with.
We started opening presents. After awhile, I noticed I hadn't gotten very many gifts. It took me awhile to figure out that we had opened up a bunch of presents the night before and that's why I didn't get much. I only remember getting a caddy for my car. Apparently, we wanted to keep our carload light for the trip the Missouri.
We went to Missouri and came back. It wasn't a big deal, except that Cind and Jid didn't have a shower and with my long hair at the time, I couldn't stand to try to wash it in a bathtub or sink. I was glad to get home to normal running water from the wall.
As terrible as Christmas was, my spirits were boosted by New Year's Eve. I was aware for the first time that we were about to change decades. Even though I lived through the last decade change, I didn't know it was happening, even though my first unenhanced memory was from Christmas of 1969. (I don't even remember New Year's Eve that year. I probably just had to go to bed early.)
We went to Aund Pand and Uncle Rid's house. We had been there the year before and had a blast. A few months prior to December 1979, Loyd and I put our parents on the spot when Pand and her family were around and asked if we could spend New Year's with them again. Loyd and I hung out with our cousin Grid waiting for midnight. We played games, listened to the radio and watched TV. We did not sneak out of the house (we were again in the middle of nowhere), get drunk or get arrested. But it was still a very eventful New Year's Eve.
A few years ago, I watched the final episode of "That 70s Show." It ends with the cast running up the stairs from the basement during the final few seconds of the 70s. I was able to watch that and recall where I was when that happened.
Since then, I've gone through three other decade changes. The end of the 80s had me leaving my workplace at 11:45pm to be by myself at home. The end of the 90s was spent at my girlfriend's house watching "ABC 2000." I don't really remember the end of the 00s. I guess it didn't seem like a decade change at the time. It's like the 00s and the 10s just merged into one really long decade.
However, I knew the 80s would be huge for me, but I didn't realize the scope of what they would entail. During that decade, I would spend the majority of my high school years, graduate, attend college, get my Bachelor's degree, get my first full-time job, quit it in a huff, move to Denver, and come close to getting married for the first time. That's a lot to have happen in a ten-year span.
I've got plenty to write about on this blog.
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