It has taken just over a week for me to recover from New Year’s Eve. Like many hip and happening parents, that evening we had a total rager at our house. Saying that 18 people came to our party sounds a little cooler than saying that 5 couples and 8 preschoolers came, so let’s go with 18 people. Now that I have started to regain my senses, I have realized that the party held here last week was not so different than the ones we had 10 (okay, closer to 15) years ago.

Let’s compare!

Similarity: People went home the next day in the same clothes they arrived in. All our guests took the walk of shame out of our place the next morning wearing what they had on the night before.

Difference: The clothes were mostly yoga pants and sweatshirts, not a tube top or high heel among us.

Similarity: We danced at 3am to OutKast’s Heya. Same music, same bad dance moves.

Difference: I’m pretty sure there were no CDs at this party, and definitely no cassettes. No Napster either.  YouTube was our DJ.

Similarity: Chips and pizza. Do we ever grow out of those? I hope not.

Difference: We also had brie. Very classy.

Similarity: We all woke up in a different places than we had planned to sleep.

Difference: We crashed on couches and on the floor because we didn’t want to disturb the sleeping children, not because we couldn’t make it upstairs. Also wake up was at 7am by noisy preschoolers and not at not at noon.

Similarity: A hard recovery was endured by all.

Difference: Recovering lasted a week instead of a day, and included afternoon naps with toddlers instead of sleeping all morning.

Similarity: Great memories of a very fun evening.

Difference: Watching our little ones have fun creates even fonder memories than the parties of years gone by. The memories may not last as long because my mind is a milk-splattered sieve, but they’re warm ones nonetheless.

Here’s to a new year celebrating the same old stuff: Good friends, family, and experiences shared together. (Belated) Happy New Year!