New Year’s Eve forms the door frame of the coming year. Standing on the threshold of a year yet to unfold promises a new beginning, an anticipation beckoning just beyond the year’s end.
My husband, Roy, and I created our own new beginning, December 31, 1986m, at 2 p.m. – we married. This year, we would have celebrated our 38th anniversary. We selected New Year’s Eve because that day was always special to me, and Roy wanted to get married on a date he wouldn’t forget. Turns out, the events of that evening created unforgettable memories we never could have foreseen.
We had a small afternoon wedding chapel ceremony followed by the reception with immediate family and close friends at our new home. Neither Roy nor I changed out of our wedding clothes for the reception. He had the tux for the weekend and hey, you only wear your wedding gown for one day. We wrapped up the reception in about an hour and a half so we could get started on our weekend at the Hotel Galvez honeymoon suite overlooking the Gulf, chocolate covered strawberries, champagne. Because it was New Year’s Eve, we wanted to get to the hotel before the drunks got on the road, so we left for the hotel in the late afternoon still wearing our wedding finery.
I scarcely remember the drive to Galveston, but once we got to the hotel, finding a parking space was already challenging. Once parked, Roy grabbed the suitcases, and we headed for the hotel lobby where New Year’s Eve revelers were already working on their merriment. Raucous laughter of happy party goers greeted our ears as we entered the hotel lobby and approached the reservations desk, but as we moved forward, the lobby went silent for just a second. Then, the magic moment happened. All the revelers in and around the lobby stood up simultaneously – applauding and cheering as we walked by – a standing ovation. A very special inauguration to a life together.
Every year is a chance for a wonderful memory and a clean slate for a new beginning. Wishing everyone their own special memory and beginning 2025. Happy New Year!
