It's that time of year again folks! Hop out of bed, get your drink on, stumble into downtown Dover, New Hampshire and at 6 PM fall down in a puddle of your own vomit only to be helped by the local firefighters and a friendly police officer. Mumble some nonsense, get yourself PC'ed until they realize you might have blood alcohol poisoning and then be taken to the local Hospital for your charcoal chaser. Well, it's that time of year for some of you, not for me!
For me today was no different than any other day except for the fact that I may have found the place I am going to move into with the woman I love. I had a terrific day at work with some amazing young people and I'm in love with an amazing woman.
It seems odd to me that so many people use a day of the year as an excuse to act like complete jack-asses and abuse their body and common senses of decency. I guess there have been times in my life when I have taken advantage of a day of the year to act in a way not in conjunction with my common sense and regular behavior.
Sure, on Thanksgiving I have been known to overindulge in some food stuffs. Maybe a few meals in a row (that's more my family than my choosing), maybe 1/2 lb. of Turkey (oh my lord - what do I do now that I am a vegetarian?!), 1 lb. of stuffing (oh my lord - what do I do now that I'm a vegetarian!?), five or six cookies, some sweet potatoes, and who knows what else. I'm merely showing my thanks through food though! My birthday? Well yeah, I've gone out a few times to celebrate and the night has gone faster and become blurrier than I intended but I'm celebrating getting older! The fourth of July? Well come on now, we're celebrating America here! What do you expect me to do other than overdo BBQ and shoot off fireworks in abundance?
All of these are things that I have already grown away from or find myself growing away from as I get older. I no longer find the joy in excess when it is an excess which is not in conjunction with the me that I am most proud of. The me that I really am.
Yeah, chances are I'll have one too many glasses of wine now and then, maybe a few cookies more than I should have on any given day of the week, and I'll likely eat just as much food next Thanksgiving and it will be just as delicious meat-free. I'm just glad that I'm past the point where I'm willing to abuse my own body for simple minded temporary pleasures - it feels mighty nice to not do that anymore.
I'm going to hop out of bed, happy that I met the woman of my dreams, drive my car to work while listening to some amazing music, try my hardest to teach some of the most amazing young people I've ever met, and enjoy the afternoon doing any number of things that bring me joy. I could get used to celebrating every day like that.
