New Year's Eve, Day, and the Superstitious Mind of BHB

Even though the rest of the year, I snidely live my life with no thought to superstition, customs, or any other kind of belief, I have this total ritual and superstitious set of patterns for New Year's Eve and Day.

It actually shocks me a little how deeply I believe these, but I do. And, no joking here either. I'm NOT just going through the motions. For some reason, despite all logic to the contrary, I really believe this stuff.  It certainly makes for an interesting couple of days.

One New Year's Eve, I believe you should spend time saying goodbye to the year. I read people's lists of "Best of the Year" and "Worst of the Year." I let myself reflect on the tragedies, the victories, and the weirdness of the year that is coming to an end. I acknowledge songs, movies, shows, and otherwise that I loved. I think about my new discovers, about the things that are part of me now that weren't just 12 months prior.

At midnight, I let the year go. I welcome the new one. I smile to myself at the possibilities. And, to be honest, I always get just a little scared. If I have considered making changes in the new year, I make those resolutions then.  I try to set realistic ones that I'll actually accomplish, not ones like "lose weight and be really great with my money" because that crap never happens.

On New Year's Day, I try to control my actions as much as possible, because I, irrationally, believe that whatever you do on NYD is what you'll be doing for the rest of the year.  I try to keep my temper in check, hope everyone else controls theirs, talk to my friends, be happy, do the things I love, and eat my peas.

The deal with the blackeyed peas, of course, is that every pea you eat is another bit of fortune you'll have for the year.  Clearly, I should eat more of the damned things. I think my roommate believes this too because he bought more than he usually does.  He hates the things, so the blackeyed pea-eating is always on me.  He eats the cornbread though.

So yes, as it's past midnight, my two days of ritual and superstition have started.  It annoys me a little that I'm this into the changing of the year, but I am and there's clearly nothing I can do to make myself see it differently.

It's just part of the strangeness of me.