Every year during the holiday season I have a whirlwind of thoughts circling the crevices of my brain. Including (but not limited to); money, time, space, work, family, and the lack thereof of all the former items. And then there is the one thought that gets me through it all every year (well every year since I've been out of my adolescence). The PARTYING. Big. Small. House. Warehouse. Field. Train tracks. Back of a liquor store. I don't care where, but come the holiday's I am ready to get down.
For a lot of years it was always a run of concerts that would be the commencement to the end of yet another too quickly passed year. I would allow myself to be engulfed in the beauty that is live music, and with the help of some form or another of sedation, I would let go and enjoy the full fledged phreak out that was going on around and inside of me. It is a great way to both end one and start the next year. Belligerent beyond belief. Because belligerence is bliss (as long as you don't take it too far, then it's just throwing up in your hands and running to the nearest garbage can)! There is just something so liberating about dressing up in the most outrageous pieces of fabric you can find, donning some glitter and beads, and boogieing down for 3 or 4 straight days. It takes you away from it all. And isn't that what we all look for toward the end of year? A way to step out of our mundane every day, and forget who and what we are for a while. (Maybe you don't, but I do!)
This year will be no different. Hopefully. I do have a 4 month old son now, and with him comes the responsibility of taking care of him. While it would be fun to leave him at home with one of the grand folks and go out raging, I would feel too guilty about leaving the little tike at home during all the having of the fun. So it's going to be a season of balance and moderation during the biggest blowouts, but really there is nothing all that wrong with keeping it mellow(er). I've started to become accustomed to the new, more tame scene that is parenthood. And while part of me did dread losing that piece of the puzzle that is my life, after being without it (or maybe a better way of putting it is, having that piece replaced with a piece that doesn't fit just right, but still completes the puzzle) I realize it isn't so bad.
So no big show this year, no stumbling through cities late at night too drunk to remember which way the BART station is. No cramming into a full ass train car on new years eve, so tightly packed that you long to be a sardine in a tin can, rather than pushed up against the girl that is about to spew all over everybody. No waking up and not having the slightest idea how you got wherever the hell it is that you are. But there will be damn good times with damn good people, coming together to achieve that moment of euphoric amnesia to the world around you and, even if just for a second, forget about anything and everything. And live in the here and the now!
Cheers to your holiday partying!!
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Real Dads Hangout on December 7, 2009 at 5:32 PM
I commend you on the thoughts of responsible parenthood. I really do BUT you didn't ask for my advice but I will give it anyway...GO PARTY! Do it while you can and only have one child. It gets harder with the more kids you have. I wish I did more when we just had one but I didn't because I felt guilty too. At 4 months your kid won't know the difference. Trust me and if you do...HAVE A DRINK FOR ME! Cheers and congrats!
Lisa on December 7, 2009 at 5:48 PM
Real Dad & Wompsett, I have a totally different take on this...I am 41, mom of 2,naturally a non-drinker who has never tried any drugs...I think for everything there is a season, such as partying like there is no tomorrow. But with children we have to think beyond ourselves. Drinking & sedating for days to the point of blissful beligerance is for those with no responsibility. Now, I am not saying stay home and never go out. I am saying what Nate said--moderation. It's always good for Mommy and Daddy to get their PHREAK on now and again (P.S. Nate, I must see a photo of said beads and glitter, LOL). Just remember there is a little one at home waiting for you to come home safe and sound. Have fun, but be safe. But do go out and enjoy yourself without guilt. :) As Always, Your FIRST Fan, Lisa
Unknown on December 7, 2009 at 6:44 PM
So, what do you do when it's your job to party? Of course I have no kids, I just live vicariously through you:)
wompsett on December 7, 2009 at 7:08 PM
Well then Josh, you make sure you have a hip flask with you at all times and go full throttle. And as Ted Logan (aka keanu reeves in bill and ted's....) said "Party on Dudes"