New Year's memories from our readers
Sometimes, the stroke of midnight brings in the New Year with an event we'll never forget. Here, Act 2 readers write about their most memorable New Year's Eve.
I am a New Year's Day baby. Since I was born, my birthday has been celebrated in grand style. My parents always had an open house filled with relatives and friends celebrating the New Year and my birthday.
One particular year, our entire family was in California for my brother's wedding. I was 39 years old and in a few days was turning the big "4-0"! We wanted to do something special for New Year's Eve, so my husband and I decided to take our four kids to Disneyland.
We had a fun-filled day and night there, and, at about 11:30 p.m., we decided to quickly take the Disney train back to another place in the park to get a better view of the fireworks.
We get on the train, it pulls out of the station and enters a little tunnel and then stops. Two minutes later the train conductor announces that there is a mechanical difficulty and the ride will resume momentarily. So, here we are, the six of us, sitting in darkness and waiting. Two minutes turn into 20 minutes, and then I realize I will be turning 40, sitting in a tunnel!
Well, three minutes before midnight, the train starts and we get to our destination, run to our spot. The fireworks start and Happy New Year/Happy Birthday Mommy hugs and kisses begin!
I will always remember that magical moment at Disney, turning 40.
--Gloria Luchsinger,Farmingville
'69 mood turned upbeat
New Year's Eve 1969 was one of those years that I was dreading. My boyfriend was stationed at Chanute Air Force Base in Rantoul, Ill. and I was missing him. My parents usually spent the celebratory Eve at the local Knights of Columbus Hall. That year, they bought tickets for my sister and me because they said we 20-somethings were old enough to be there.
I couldn't decide what to wear. I had a beautiful, shimmering yellow, one-piece outfit, but I wasn't in the mood to wear it. I wasn't even going to put makeup on. At my sister's urging, I did finally get dressed in the yellow outfit.
At the hall, I was still moping around and tried to participate, but my heart wasn't in it. It was about 10 minutes to midnight, and I was dreading the New Year festivities as they were ramping up. I was observing others and feeling sorry for myself. Then, my sister motioned toward the door. I couldn't believe my eyes. There stood my boyfriend in his dress-blues uniform. I ran over to him and was so excited. His mother had picked him up at the airport as part of a conspiracy that my family was in on.
We hugged and laughed, and at midnight he took out a little black jewelry box. I opened it to find a beautiful diamond ring! I said, "Yes" on the spot. The worst New Year's Eve turned out to be the best one, ever. No other one can ever compare with that special night.
--Rosemary McKinley, Southold
Added blessing of a child
Every year at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve, I reflect back to the party at 24 Fifth Ave. in Manhattan where I first met my husband, Andrew. Five guys in their 20s, friends from high school, hosted this party to meet girls. As my friend and I danced to Prince and Madonna, the disco ball twirled around the pulsating ballroom. Andrew said he was in the middle of toasting the New Year with his buddy when his friend caught sight of my friend and waltzed off with her, leaving me alone on the dance floor. Andrew, a handsome blond dressed in a tux and Top-Siders asked me to dance. We talked for hours, and when the party ended and we couldn't hail a cab, he escorted me two miles in the snow to my apartment. The next day, I told my parents, "I met the man I'm going to marry."
Fast forward eight years; my husband and I had been married for five years, and we were living in the city. At 12:01 a.m. New Year's Day, Andrew visited me in the hospital dressed again in a tuxedo and carrying party hats. I was in preterm labor. Our baby was due in March, and after a difficult pregnancy, my contractions were two minutes apart. It wasn't till that evening when the nurse instructed us, "Cancel the delivery on the Chinese food, this baby's coming now!"
My daughter Lauren was born weighing 3 pounds, 1 ounce. As tiny as she was, she looked just like her daddy with fluffy blond hair and big blue eyes. After she was delivered, the nurses whisked her away to the neonatal intensive care unit. The doctor gravely told us, "Although she is breathing on her own, she could suffer a brain hemorrhage. We'll just have to see."
Each day we visited Lauren and held her fragile fingers through the incubator openings and read her our favorite storybooks. She was hooked up to IVs and oxygen monitors, but after two months, she was a healthy 5 pounds and ready to come home.
This New Year's, we will celebrate as our 3-pound baby girl turns 18. Lauren is mature and intelligent; she is taller than I am and wears a larger shoe size. Next year, she will be a freshman in college.
I embrace the New Year as a time to reflect, to be thankful and to enjoy the excitement of the upcoming year.
--Carolyn Lituchy,Roslyn Heights
