my kick-start to 2011.

I was a nervous wreck up until I arrived at Nat and E's house on New Year's Eve because, even without any actual evidence, I had a fairly good feeling that I'd be getting a kiss at midnight. Yet as soon as I pulled into the driveway and walked inside, my nerves began to die down.

The start to our evening was really wonderful – I sat down to a cozy dinner with just their immediate family and Nat’s fiancé. I felt so comfortable chatting and making jokes as we ate yummy food and listened to the most random mix of music in the background. Just as we finished, the boys rushed out to get grapes for a New Year’s tradition about which they’d nearly forgotten (you eat twelve grapes at midnight and make a wish for each).

Nat and I got ready for the party in the mean time, the boys returned, and just before guests arrived, I was sticking lentils in my shoe for another tradition. Apparently if you put lentils in your pocket on New Year’s Eve, it will bring you money in the New Year. Being without pockets, in my boot they went. We’ll see if that works out.

The party had a slow start, but once the girls that I knew arrived, I had a really fun time. Talking and laughing with them – along with sipping at a glass of Arbor Mist mixed with Sprite – brought my nerves down to a manageable level. I still checked my phone every twenty minutes, but I was so entwined in discussions with the girls that the time passed fairly quickly.

Midnight itself it pretty hazy. I remember vividly when there were two minutes left as the timer clicked down on the TV screen. I remember being acutely aware of where E was standing as I clutched my cup of sparkling cider. I remember my head and heart pounding at an increasing rate as the timer got to thirty seconds, in disbelief that it was coming up so quickly. I remember counting down, shouting 'Happy New Year,' drinking my cider, and then it just... happened. Without saying anything, without any of the grandeur and attention that I had fretted about, and strangely, without a single ounce of nervousness left in my body.

I don't really remember what happened for the next ten minutes or so, but I consider that a good thing because I was floating on cloud nine. Eventually I came back to my senses and the party continued. The rest of the party was just as fun as the prior four hours, and as the majority of the guests left, we sluggishly cleaned up and headed to bed. The remainder of my evening was filled with more butterflies-in-the-stomach moments and a goodnight kiss (or two) that took my breath away.

My night was mostly sleepless because of all the excitement, which meant my drive home the following day was torturous. I was fine for the first half, when I blasted Ke$ha and relived all the moments from the previous night. As I got back into my town, I realized I was starving and also feeling hungover from lack of sleep. I dragged myself into Dunkin Donuts because a bagel with cream cheese and a vanilla chai sounded like the best thing in the world, then came home and collapsed into bed.

I was down for the count for the entire rest of the weekend, but it was so absolutely worth it. It was truly one of my best New Year’s ever and I’m still having a hard time believing it all really happened. Having such a fantastic start to 2011 gives me an even better feeling of how awesome this year should turn out to be.