Happy New Year ?

New Year's Eve is coming along with the many celebration, parties and events. Every where I go I will be greeted with "Happy New Year". Most will have a joyful celebration as they watch the new year come in. For some the year will start off badly as a result of their excessive partying.

Growing up in my home this occasion was celebrated with revelry and drinking. Come to think of it, every occasion was celebrated with alcohol in my house. This is where I came to my definition of a social drinker as being one who drank, got drunk and if he or she did not cause a fight they were social drinkers. It never dawned on me that a true social drinker maybe has one or one and a half, two drinks at a party.

As a child I was often woken by loud and sometimes violent confrontations because of the excess drinking that took place. I grew up thinking that this was normal. The most often used excuse for the person causing the row was that they are just going through a bad time in their life. It seemed to me that some were having years of bad times. This happened so often that even today if I am woken by raised voices or a loud crash I am terror stuck for a moment of two.
So I guess you will understand it if I am one of those who choose to stay in the peace of my home and not give too much attention to the coming of the New Year. I will treat it just like any other day and hope that I can remember to write 07 and not 06 on my checks. Besides I like waking clear headed and remembering what I did the night before.