Out With The Old 2015

So Wifey and I decided to do something different for this NYE, but we couldn't decide what it would be. Both of the Ds were busy -- D2 going to the Mondrian on South Beach, and D1 attending a great party in Coconut Grove, so I suggested maybe getting a table at Ball and Chain, the cool retro nightclub in Little Havana. The great Tito Puente, Jr was playing, and a table for 6 was the not crazy price of $750.00. One by one my friends all begged off -- most to stay home, look at each other, and admit it was all over -- any semblance of youth and vitality. I wasn't giving up, not this year. Then we learned some couples were going to local seafood place Captain's Tavern -- a restaurant we attended several years in a row when our friend Crazy Sheryl was in town. Sheryl always has a way of making events fun, and for a few NYEs we went with her and friends. Mike and Loni said they'd come, and then Diane and John added on, too. The only problem with The Tavern is its nasty owner and host -- a Filipina woman who is akin to Seinfeld's Soup Nazi. The food and prices at the Tavern are good, but the woman told Stacy, the organizer, that our group of 14 needed to be "all present" by 6:15, and maybe she'd seat us by 8. This development led to a spate of texts from Wifey to our friends -- they then begged off. The Tavern wasn't Joe's, and the thought of starting off the year kow towing to a nasty restaurant owner didn't sound appealing. Wifey and I got dressed, and then realized our friends Mike and Loni and Diane and John were right -- so we begged off, too. Diane and John had reservations at a place in the Grove called Strada, and Wifey got them to add 2 more spaces. We fetched Diane and John and got to Strada at 8 -- Diane and I shared a bottle of Stag's Leap Cab, and we all feasted on the great food. From there we went back to Diane's condo, where she popped a bottle of Veuve, and we stood on the 14th floor balcony watching fireworks. We left around 11. We watched PitBull's NYE, which was far better than what's left of Dick Clark's Times Square show. Pitbull had Earth, Wind, and Fire, and Wifey danced. We got texts from the Ds, and then we lay awake in bed, and looked back and forward. This was the 31st NYE we spent together. For the first several, we were boyfriend and girlfriend, and then husband and wife. Somehow, over the years, we also became partners in real estate, most importantly, parents, and then caretakers of the elderly. We cared for my Mom until she passed, now going on three years, and we still care for Wifey's parents. It occurred to us that it's easy to forget our original relationship. I asked Wifey out and she accepted. So we're going into 2016 renewing that, and it makes us both happy. Plus, the Ds say I'm fat, and they're right, so I'll work on healthier eating as well. Tomorrow the Ds are joining a few of Wifey's friends for a delayed birthday celebration -- they're going to a luxury movie theatre that just opened in North Miami Beach. D2 is here until Sunday night, and then she heads back to NYC -- the weather will finally turn winter-like -- she'll go from the low 80s in her home to the teens... And a new year is upon us, on top of a string of truly awesome years. Maybe next year I'll go to the salsa place -- just Wifey and me.