same old new year

For the first time in years, I found myself entering into the New Year as a 'couple'. Not since before Dick Clark became so painful to watch as the ball descended upon Times Square had I been with someone to share the beginning of a New Year. And, while I wasn't expecting much more from 2009 than I had from 2008, at least I was reasonably certain that I would be entering this year with a kiss.

I've been dating Amy for a couple of months now and we have become quite comfortable with several rooms in her house. Wine had been poured in the kitchen, dinner had been eaten in the dining room, and television had been watched in the living room. But the bedroom was still unexplored territory. And, while driving home from the New Year's Eve party at my friend Jim's house, it was this unfamiliar room that I was thinking about.

Was I expected to drive myself home after dropping her off or was I going to be invited to spend the night? And, if an invitation was extended, would I be invited to share the bed with her or would I be sleeping on the couch? And, if I actually made it into the bedroom, would there be any additional bedroom related activities that I would be permitted to indulge in beyond just sleeping?

While pondering all of this from the driver's seat of my Ford, Amy cuddled up next to me and rested her head on my shoulder.

“So which side of the bed do you prefer sleeping on?” she asked, thus answering several of the questions that had been occupying my mind and had almost caused me to drive through a red light a few blocks back.

“Well, I can't really claim to being an all-right or all-left side of the bed sleeper,” I told her, “because I always choose the side that's closest to the alarm clock so that I have easy and immediate access to the snooze button.”

She yawned and said, “Well, I always sleep on the side farthest from the alarm clock so that I'm forced to wake up enough to walk over in order to reach the snooze button. So this is perfect.”

And as we drove the last few miles to her house, I dared to wonder if perhaps this was a sign as to how the new year would be. Perfect.