Summary

The author reflects on the humorous potential of New Year's Eve, using the day as a canvas for light-hearted, recurring jokes about the finality of events "for the rest of the year," despite the typically gloomy weather and the prospect of snow shoveling.

Abstract

On the last day of 2018, the author finds humor in a snowstorm, turning a potentially depressing sight into a source of amusement by declaring it the "last snowstorm of the year." This optimistic outlook is emblematic of the author's approach to New Year's Eve, a day they equate to April Fool's Day in terms of its capacity for humor. The author shares anecdotes about picking up a free calendar from the bank and making a humorous promise to never make another deposit "for the rest of the year," much to the bank teller's surprise and eventual amusement. The piece underscores the importance of maintaining a positive perspective, suggesting that embracing humorous and uplifting thoughts can lead to a more joyful start to the new year.

Opinions

The author views New Year's Eve as a day filled with humorous potential, especially through the use of "for the rest of the year" jokes.
Despite the negative aspects of winter weather, the author chooses to focus on the positive, using humor to combat the gloom.
The author admits to being avoid by friends and family due to their penchant for repeating the same New Year's Eve jokes annually.
There is an acknowledgment that the choice of thoughts one entertains can significantly impact their mood and outlook, advocating for a focus on positivity and laughter.
The author playfully suggests that the effort of walking through a blizzard is worth the humor found in the "for the rest of the year" joke, indicating a commitment to maintaining a light-hearted perspective.
The piece concludes with a rhetorical question emphasizing the importance of laughter on New Year's Eve, implying that without it, the celebration would lack purpose.

‘For the Rest of the Year’

A positive New Year’s Eve

On this last day of both December and 2018 I look out my office window and see snow falling and being blown about by a stiff wind. There are a multitude of thoughts my noggin could have generated in reaction to this — mostly negative — but the first thought out of my noggin was a joke.

Okay, so it’s snowing yet again but the one thing I can be certain of is that today’s snowstorm will, in fact, most certainly be the very last snowstorm of the year!

See what I did? I turned what to me is normally a rather depressing thing into something very positive. I actually made myself chuckle just a wee bit.

That’s what I really like about New Year’s Eve. It is a day rife with potential for humor — even if it is somewhat idiotic humor. It’s all about the tweaking of perspectives.

I remember last year on New Year’s Eve I went to the bank, not to make a deposit or withdrawal, but rather to pick up a free calendar for the new year. I am rather adverse to calendars. They’re all wrong. But I still get a calendar for my kitchen wall every year. After all, I need to know when to pay the rent.

The bank had four different calendars to choose from. I looked through one that was entitled, Wetlands of the Great Plains. There were a lot of pictures of birds. How perfect! So I grabbed it and held it up in the air as I said thanks to the bank teller on my way out of the bank.

“Take two or three. We’ve got a ton of those calendars.”

I turned to her and said, “One is fine.”

“No deposit today?”

“I stopped in my tracks and pretended to be as serious as I could be, “No. No deposit today. In fact I have decided that I will never, ever make another deposit again for the rest of the year!”

She looked shocked as her jaw dropped. Three seconds later she was giggling, “Okay, I get it. So I guess I’ll see you next week.”

“No. No! You’ll see me NEXT YEAR.”

She giggled again. (And so did I.)

New Year’s Eve is kind of like April Fool’s Day for me. Think about it. It is the one and only day of the year you can tell ‘for the rest of the year’ jokes and get laughs. Tell one in June and it just ain’t funny.

People who have known me for more than a couple of years understandably avoid me on New Year’s Eve. ‘For the rest of the year’ jokes are funny the first year but not so much in subsequent years. I’ve been pulling these jokes on my daughter every December 31st for her entire life. Now she won’t even speak to me on New Year’s Eve.

So here I am sitting at my desk looking at the blizzard-like conditions outside my window. I could be thinking a lot of negative thoughts, such as…

Jesus H. Vasquez! This is the thirteenth snowstorm we’ve had so far this season and it’s not even January yet! Last winter we only had eleven snowstorms the entire season!

My back is sore from all the snow shoveling I’ve done over the last week. (We had a blizzard the day after Christmas that left us with four foot snowdrifts.) I don’t want to do more shoveling, gosh darn it!

Boy, the heating bill I’m going to get in January is really going to suck.

Since all the stores will be closed tomorrow on New Year’s Day I’ve got to go out in this horrific weather to get some last minute supplies. Plus I’ve got to stop at the bank to pick up a new calendar. I really don’t want to go walking through another blizzard for crying out loud!

And what if the same teller is working at the bank as last New Year’s Eve?

I could have thought all these negative thoughts but I didn’t. Okay. Okay, I thought about them long enough to write them down but I didn’t focus on them. I’m trying to remain positive. How can a new year start on a positive note if the old year ends on a negative note? We can choose the thoughts that come spewing out of our noggin that we want to embrace. The more positive, uplifting and funny thoughts that we embrace, the more that will come spewing out of our noggins. Right?

No, I really don’t want to go walking out in blizzard conditions today. But I’m going to do it anyway and I’m not going to complain. I will find solace in the fact that I will never, ever have to do it again FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR.

Hey, if you can’t laugh on New Year’s Eve what’s the freaking point of even having a New Year’s Eve?

If this did not make you laugh then maybe this story will…

The Little Green Puppy

A bedtime story for humans

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