In 2005, Matt and I both accepted Christ. It was March of that year so I think back to this day, 8 years ago. I would have woken up, probably not this early, with a headache and feeling like I had been run over with a truck. My kids would not be here but at their grandparents house and I would be sitting here thinking I would never do that again. I would never drink myself into a drunken stupor where I actually lose moments of my life that I will never get back. I would never drink so much that parts of the night are gone. I had made myself this promise many times before. I was a binge alcoholic. I didn't drink on the weekdays, ever. But once Friday came, I was anxious to get to the bar either Friday night or Saturday. I hated the taste of all beers and most mixed drinks. Let's be honest - alcohol tastes NASTY. I wasn't a social drinker either. If I was going somewhere to party, my sole intention was getting wasted. Period.
So, I made the same silent promise to myself that I had made many, many times previous. However, in 2005, I didn't realize that it would hold truth.....two months later, I accepted Christ. I had one mixed drink when Matt and I went on a cruise that following May and drank half of it. I no longer had the desire to drink or get drunk. I hadn't touched a drop of alcohol since.
So what did I do for New Year's eve? Since my last party in 2005, I have partied hard with a group that knows how to par-tay -- youth. In 2005, we partied with our church's youth group at the time. In 2006 and 2007, we hung out with my brother because we were in transition between churches. But in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 we partied with a group that farts a lot, belches, plays hide and seek, laughs when someone trips, needs a permission form, drinks enough soda to stay awake all night with a sugar buzz and tries to smash cans on their foreheads. I can say that those years trump the previous years of spending way too much money to get way too drunk.
Last night was no exception. Even though our group was small due to everyone having other plans that weren't as cool as hanging out with us and Jesus, we had a great time. We hung out and played cards before driving an hour away to check out another church's party. We figured since our group was small, we would take them somewhere to possibly have a good time. We got there a little late and there were no seats not too mention we felt awkward and out of place since we were from a different church. It didn't take us long to decide to just go back to our church and hang out. So we did.
You may think the trip was a wasted one but I beg to differ. The ride back was full of so much laughter, I don't remember laughing that hard in a long time. Our bellies hurt, our eyes watered and I threatened to pee my pants on more than one occasion (that is when you know you are having a good time!). The drive back, even though it was an hour, seemed like minutes because of the laughter and joking. As I type this, I still smile at the thought of the conversations.
We didn't plan on partying at the church, therefore, we didn't have much in the way of food. We had some hot dogs so we stopped and picked up a loaf of bread. Needless to say the bread was stale but that didn't matter. Our spirits were already lightened and our cheeks sore from laughter.....stale bread didn't dampen our moods.
Then we played board games that went a little like this *ahem*.....
Matt had to talk like a woman while Caleb did a photo shoot (bad kitty!), JJ not only fumigated us with his natural gas that he could bottle and use as chemical warfare but he had to ride an ostrich, Izzy sang a love song to her card, Caleb song us a wonderful rendition of "If you're happy and you know it" and I was stuck in a tree with a lobster while talking like Frankenstein while Antonio and Cheyenne were being anti-social in the other room. haha.
And no, I was not drunk.
Quelf - the best game ever.
So, at 4:30 in the morning I finally crawled into bed. My spirit was light, my eyes were heavy and my heart was full. We may not party hard with alcohol any more but we have some of the best times with the most cherished memories.
Instead of having a regret of spending too much money and drinking too much alcohol.....I have the regret of not taking many pictures to capture the evening.
If this is a taste of what 2013 holds for me.....I say bring it on.
 |
| Matt and I, 4 in the morning......happy and sober! |
 |
| The group Matt and I got to ring in the New Year with. Who wouldn't want to party with this motley crew? |
No comments:
Post a Comment