Rob first asked to stay up for New Year’s Eve way back when he was 7, and the twins were about a year and a half old, and I was pregnant with Henry.
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| Looked pretty much like this all the time, but with a second toddler too. |
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| Yeah, it was more like that. With me barfing nearby. |
(That first photo, by the way, is an argument for “Keep photos of yourself, even if you hate them and can’t bear to look at them and have to hide them because if you have to look at them you won’t be able to help shredding them.” I hated that picture so much when I first saw it, I thought Paul must secretly dislike me to have taken it. Now I love it and am so grateful to have it, and I don’t care whether it’s flattering per se.) (But Paul really does need to learn about not photographing from up under someone’s chin.)
Anyway, I almost couldn’t bear the idea of staying up when I COULD BE SLEEPING. I first tried to talk Rob out of it, with the argument that he didn’t want to stay up. It was boring, I said. Nothing happened, I said. It was 30 seconds of watching a ball drop on television. It was a long wait in the middle of the night, and then it was over in one minute. I was not going to want to party, or play games, or in fact interact at all. I might even doze in the chair. He would be basically on his own for hours and hours, and he would have to be quiet and not wake up his father or siblings. It would be BORING, I said. He did NOT WANT TO, I said.
Well, but he did. So I let him, figuring I probably COULD manage such a sacrifice for just one night, but saying he had to stay in his room until 9:30, and then IF he was still awake when I came to get him, THEN he could stay up. I added further cautions about how it was not worth it and he would be disappointed and he would be sorry he’d tried it.
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| He was not sorry. He was not even very tired. |
The next year was even worse. I was spending my days with two 2-year-olds and a nursing infant, and continued to be unable to bear the idea of staying up until midnight when I COULD BE ASLEEP.
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| Tiiiiiirrrrrrrrd |
Especially since, at midnight, I would have to face the excruciating dilemma of “Do I go ahead and just stay up until what will likely be a 12:30 feeding—but then maybe end up sitting awake and grinding my teeth and crying with despair at 1:00, 1:30, 2:00, as the baby DOESN’T awaken as expected and I count the time I COULD have been sleeping but now with every passing minute it would be crazier and crazier to go to bed? Or do I go to sleep at midnight, possibly to be awakened by a baby riiiiiiight as I’m drifting off, throwing me into Night Mother Rage? Or do I wake the baby early to nurse before I go to bed, feeling stupid for waking a sleeping baby AND maybe not successfully nursing anyway, only to face the same dilemma at 12:45 instead of at midnight?”
God, the small-baby nights can be unpleasant. But we did it anyway: Rob and I stayed up for New Year’s again. I seem to have blocked out what I did about nursing. Isn’t memory merciful sometimes?
The year after that, William wanted to stay up too. I had the same rule, now for two children instead of one: if they were awake when I came in at 9:30, they could stay up for New Year’s.
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| They both made it. William just barely. |
I’m not sure which year it started feeling like a party instead of an ordeal. I think it took me a couple of years to recover from night-nursing and to feel again as if I could imagine staying up late without suffering. It was probably two New Year’s Eves ago, in 2010, when Henry was 3 years old and Rob and William were 11 and 9. Instead of making them stay in their rooms, I let them just stay up and play video games and watch TV. Instead of deliberately making it no fun in the hopes that they would not want to do it anymore, I bought Festive Snacks: pizza rolls, Doritos, M&Ms, soda for them and champagne for me.
I still made it a low-interaction event: I would like to spend my New Year’s Eve filling out the next year’s calendar, being on the computer, reading a book, doing some puzzles, writing in a journal—not playing with children. But if the children would like to play nearby, that is fine.
And last year and this year, I’ve even looked forward to it. The boys and I plan ahead of time what snacks we would like to eat (my favorite is the boneless buffalo wings; I am also fond of champagne). We go out together on a special shopping trip to obtain those snacks, in case another snack idea needs to be considered on the spot (this year it was ranch-flavored chicken fries: we were intrigued) (edited to add: ick).
Paul has started watching a movie with them in the early evening, to give me some time to recharge before the evening ahead. (Paul himself hits the hay at 10:00 sharp. He is not tempted by our offers of snacks and Ryan Seacrest and grumpy tiredness the next day.) This year they’re all watching the first Harry Potter movie while I sit in the computer room, typing and looking through old photos.
Also, this year the twins are the same age Rob was when he first stayed up. They have been given the option to join us. Elizabeth is ALL IN. She won’t have any trouble staying up: sometimes when we go to bed, we have to tap on her door and say “Lights OUT, Elizabeth.” Edward is uncertain: he usually has dark under-eye circles by 6:00 p.m., and he is asleep 5 minutes after he goes to bed, so he doesn’t know if this will work. Either way, we have plenty of snacks.
Edited to add: They did it!
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| (William is not taller than Rob; Rob is standing down several steps.) |
My oldest child who is cognizant of the calendar is almost five and the others are three and one and I just didn’t even tell them it was NYE. I am never going to make it until midnight, I was just wondering how long I’ll have to do this. Maybe two more years? Happy New Year!
I love all the pictures, Swistle. That first picture of Rob makes me kind of teary and I’m not even that sappy of a person! My kids are 5,3, and 1 and have no concept of NYE. Which is fine by me. For now.
Mostly this makes me think of the rage/stress/anxiety/despair of having a newborn. And whenever I think about that (usually as I’m exhausted at bedtime), I rethink my plan to have a (not yet conceived) 4th baby. But that stage goes by fast, right? Right.
I love this – the memories, the PHOTOS (such adorable children!) (Rob with the clock nearing midnight!), the transition from pain-in-the-arse to fun-for-the-whole-family, the snack-buying, all of it.
My mom made New Year’s Eve fun – same kind of thing: movies and fun snacks. But since I only had the one brother, I also got to invite friends, so it really did feel like a party.
Hope you all have a wonderful evening! Happy New Year to the whole Thistle family!
You look like you’re about nineteen in that picture!
We are kind of similar in the whole NYE thing. I stay up, generally, but I don’t find it all that exciting. This year the eldest is at a party and I’ll drive out and pick her up after the “bells toll” at midnight. The two boys are also up (14, 11) and we had a spaghetti dinner and watched Mirror Mirror as a fam, including Dad. We’ve come together again for dessert and now I am upstairs hibernating, DH is asleep across the bed, and the boys are downstairs watching TV. I’ll join them in about a half hour.
Super festive? No, but that’s not really our way. After Christmas Eve, Christmas, my son’s bday on the 28th, we are kind of content to chill.
Happy New Year, Swistle. We love ya!
I just love your posts! Happy new year!
This made me misty, and really it doesn’t take much, but you are all so cute and I love your little tradition.
Dude. Picture with the clock = genius.
Love seeing all the pics! Happy New Year, Swistle family!
This was awesome. I know there was the convo about kids never wanting to read their parents journals but I can imagine select excerpts might be appreciated if stumbled upon, like this one.
There were two New Years where I was in the early stages of pregnancy (2007 and 2009) and I couldn’t stay up past about 10. The days after were weird, it was like my brain couldn’t cope with it being the new year if I hadn’t heard Big Ben (that’s what we do here, watch Big Ben chime at midnight, no balls dropping) (which sounds weird however I phrase it). Generally we just stay up, watch Big Ben on television, I sing Auld Lang Syne along with the presenters, then we go to bed.
Oh, I loved this post. The buildup of how you told Rob it would be boring, followed by the smiling photo of him with the clock? Fantastic.
Oh thank you for the update! Yay! I love that you make it so much fun and such a big deal to stay up past midnight.
i am mostly impressed that the children appear to still be wearing actual clothes.
You are more game than I am. I haven’t stayed up until midnight on NYE since before kids. It just doesn’t appeal any more. If they ever want to do it they may have to do it by themselves. Last night I was sick and in bed by 9:15.
I love the first photo. Living through those moments (tired, newborn, pregnancy sickness) is so hard at the time, but something about photos like that one brings nostalgia for bygone days rise to the surface.
Can I just tell you I’m enjoying your blog so much right now. It was fun to know you did the special snack thing too (for us it was Doritos, veggie platter, jalapeno dip, chips and buffalo chicken dip with tostitos and soda), and that your evening went a similar way ours did. Sometimes I feel like I’m the black cloud of fun suckage in this house so it was nice to be able to lighten up and give the kids a fun, safe, enjoyable evening on the last day of the year.
What a great idea! So sweet to make such a big, fun deal of it. (Pizza rolls also figured largely in my NYE.)
Your kids are cuties.
I love the silver clock.
My daughter stayed the night with my niece, and my SIL and BIL let them stay up to midnight. And this is fine because I didn’t have to do it, although I demanded N take a nap yesterday because she is a bear (really, fur and claws) if she doesn’t get 11-12 hours of sleep a night, and my niece is an early-riser (so N got like 8 hours of sleep on NYE).
Last night she slept 13+ hours….
Recovery is hard.
SHUT UP THOSE ARE NOT YOUR CHILDREN!!!! So tall!
How fun! I haven’t gotten to the point yet where I want to do this with the kids. Maybe next time? If they stop getting at 5:30 every morning, that time will certainly come faster.
Gosh this made me feel so teary for some reason! I am still in the “ordeal” phase…with an 8yo (who has sn and no clue about staying up), a 5yo (who can take two hours to get to sleep on a good night) and yes, 1.5 year old twins. GAH!
But they were happy tears because this sounds like so much fun! I hope it’s what our future holds.
Happy New Year!
Oh my goodness! They are so grown up. I know you don’t want to hear that. I’m sorry.
I just came over to the comments to say that I wish I had read this post before NYW this year. It was my daughter’s first year staying up (7 in March) and she barely made it. I would have loved to have taken her picture with the clock.
NYE (new year’s eve) not NYW
it totally freaks me out that current teenage boys have hair-dos that look straight out of a shawn cassidy album cover. I mean i loved shawn cassidy and all but that was the 70s!
i’m sort of hoping that 80’s skater boy hair comes back into fashion by the time jack is old enough to care.