New Year's Eve in 55+

So originally, when mom was looking to come down to Caliente for Christmas, she asked if there was a New Year's Eve event happening - which there was. We thought "why not go?". And so we planned to do the scheduled event - that is until we read more about it. It was $25 per person, included appetizers and had a jazz band. I am not a fan of jazz. But more hysterically, it was from 7 - 10pm. What the - how can you have a New Year's Eve party that doesn't even go until midnight?!? So we scrapped that idea and decided to just wing it.

Then, during waterball, one lady invited us all to her NYE party. Then the crowd was growing bigger so she booked a clubhouse room for it instead of having it at her house and asked us to bring appies and to come at 7.

So we got there a little after seven - there was a large crowd in the room sitting in chairs arranged in a circle but some had just finished playing a game. Since we were the newcomers we got dragged immediately into a new game - which was pass the banana between your knees to the next person in line. That is not as easy as it may sound - especially because some maynard thought getting ripe bananas was a good idea. So our bananas got squished and some of us got mashed bananas on our clothes. But it was good for a laugh anyway.

Then we played another game where they tied a spoon to the end of a long string and we had to thread the string through our clothes. The boys had to put it down their shirts and down their pants, and the ladies had to string it UP their pants and up through their shirt. I was the last one in line. Once I got the string through my clothes I thought the game was over - but NO - I had to pull the whole string out...... so I said - HEY - I have to touch the string after it has gone past the crotches of the entire line!!!! Which cracked everyone up - and then the 87 year old (the one with kids on social security) says to me 'oh yeah - and you probably should be suspicious of any banana bread over the next couple of days too......'

There was a game of pass the orange from chin to chin - Cam's sister played that one - and her passing partner looked about 8.5 months pregnant - and he was a man!! And of course, she is 5.5 months pregnant which added to the challenge....

Then we played a beach ball game where everyone had to tap the ball to the next person and if it was dropped, the person who last touched it was out. This game gets progressively more difficult because the circle doesn't get smaller - you just have to hit the ball that much harder and farther to the next person as more and more people drop out. Butch made a valiant effort before he was knocked out - even going so far as to make a diving save and ended up on the floor. Alas it didn't work - however, someone tried to recruit him to play waterball!

So in the meanwhile, the tv with the New York feed of CNN was on. They passed out noisemakers at 8:30pm....... I guess you can see where this is leading....... We got to the countdown of the eastern time zone and we all counted it down and at exactly 9pm we all went wild. The old folks were wishing everyone a Happy New Year and I was wishing everyone "Happy Nine O Clock". Then, immediately after all the 'new year' hoopla died down, everyone gathered their potluck appetizers, cleaned up the streamers, put the tables away and booked it out of there. At 9:22 one of them said - HEY we did pretty good - we got this all cleaned up and it isn't even 9:30! Cam said, 'so, if we'd been a little faster and got this all done by 9:05 that would have been AWESOME as opposed to 'pretty good'????

While it still cracks me up that we attended a 'wild' New Years Eve party that literally broke up at 9:22pm, I can still say with confidence that it was one of the best NYE celebrations I've been to.

After we left there, we came home and played dominoes (Mexican Train - another old folks staple for those of you wondering what being a senior is like). The sad news is that I have developed a cold. I guess it is a combination of being around other people who are sick and also the weather turned quite cold here - even to freezing overnight - who knew? And when I felt like I was coming down with something, I skipped waterball that day - but then we went shopping and I didn't wear a proper coat and got a chill from it.

No, this cold hasn't stopped me from playing waterball (not yet anyway). Cam has become as addicted to waterball as much as or more than me. He announced today that pneumonia is a reasonable price to pay in order to continue playing waterball (clearly at all costs). Although I do feel better when I'm in the pool. It is over 90 degrees in there after all....

So back to the Mexican Train - I had to wear a mask & wash my hands after every time I blew my nose - so I gave up early to get ready for bed, and then the rest of the crew packed it in shortly thereafter.

So that leaves me here now - at 11:40 pm on New Year's Eve, blogging about my ROCKIN' New Years Eve - with a party, and then a game and now off to bed and the New Year has yet to arrive even still......

And since I'm off to bed now, I guess I'll say to you all 'HAPPY 11:41pm"!!!!!!