Like most newlyweds, we had very little money when we were first married. We had to be creative with our entertainment. One night we watched a double feature at a movie theatre in Kits. Street Car Named Desire and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof was playing. We smuggled in a bottle of cheap red wine, a bag of Montreal bagels, some cream cheese, a couple of glasses and a knife. We sat in the back of the theatre.

We were never the couple to spend big money on attending a gala event on New Year’s Eve. When the children were young we preferred to spend it with them watching movies and eating Chinese food on the couch.

I fully expected that as we grew older New Year’s would become quieter and more mellow than we had spent it in our twenties. Retiring to an off grid island inhabited by a handful of people should have found us celebrating New Year’s with a glass of Port and the New York countdown at 9 pm local time.

I was wrong…

We spent it with forty-five people at the fire hall eating, singing, drinking and dancing until 1 AM. The ages varied from 25 to 90….. Everyone sang karaoke and everyone danced. The music was multigenerational. We had rock, we had polka and YMCA. There was even a little Avicii and Capital Cities. It was like a wedding reception, and we were all in the bridal party…

The karaoke bar was raised this year with the addition of costumes. Lady Gaga and Leonard Cohen showed up. Sonny and Cher, ABBA, and Roger Miller were all there. An excellent rendition of Little talks by Of Monsters and Men was a hit.  A  beautiful woman in a Hawaiian Costume danced the hula and sang Tiny Bubbles. All the guys got up and sang Marguritaville.  The women joined together to sing  You don’t have to say you love me.  There were door prizes and a 50/50 pot of $400.00. The winner of the $200.00  donated the money back to the fire hall.

The next morning found nine of the same crowd in the water taking a Polar Bear Dip. They were rewarded, along with their gallery of supporters with an extravagant luncheon on our neighbours deck.  Lunch for thirty just “whipped up” like it was an everyday occurrence.

The island will soon be pretty much empty again as the holidays come to an end and we will be left in peace with our books by the fire. It’s a good thing because this being creative for our entertainment is exhausting.  I had no idea that the older we would get the more fun we would have. I need a rest,  but first I have to start looking for a song to sing

next New Year’s