January 1, 2020, four days before my 50th birthday, my husband and I plunged into the Atlantic Ocean. The shock of the icy water was as surprising as the path that led us there.

For Christmas the previous week, I gave my husband tickets to the Belk Bowl. Our University of Kentucky Wildcats would be facing off against the Virginia Tech Hokies. The game, which we won, was held at noon on December 31st in Charlotte, North Carolina. We wanted the celebration to continue, and we were only about three and half hours from Folly Beach. With our UK flags flying from our car windows, we headed southeast.

Little did we know that all of Folly Beach was also celebrating that weekend. It was the seventh annual Bill Murray Polar Plunge, honoring the famous comedian and actor who lives in Charleston (which is just north of Folly Beach). The hotel where we booked our stay was overflowing with guests dressed like Bill Murray’s famous characters. There were multiple Peter Venkmans, from Ghostbusters, several Carl Spacklers from Caddyshack, and more than a dozen men wearing long camel trench coats over dress clothes to depict Phil Connors from Groundhog Day.

The beach in front of the hotel was swarming with various Bill Murray lookalikes. Though my husband and I were not prepared with costumes, we weren’t alone. Many other polar plungers simply wore swimsuits and cover-ups. The temperature hovered just below 60 degrees, warm for landlocked Kentucky in January, but breezy and cool on the beaches of South Carolina.

At 1:00, a signal horn sounded, and hundreds of Bill Murray fans, including my husband and me, ran into the surf. My husband and I were holding hands, and we ran until the water was above our waists. It was murky and so cold it took our breaths, but we both ducked completely under. I lost my sunglasses which were perched on top of my head. It was too cold to fish around for them, so we raced back to shore. Cold water dripped down our backs, and we couldn’t stop laughing.

It was a New Year’s Day to remember. We had no idea we would both be working from home in a matter of months as Covid shut down the middle school where I was a seventh grade teacher and the elementary school where my husband was principal. I like to think that even though we took the polar plunge atFolly Beach, that was probably the most sane thing we did for the next several months. Our world was so different beginning March of 2020 that jumping into the ocean on New Year’s Day seemed normal.

With jobs and kids and a house and responsibilities, spontaneity has often taken a backseat in our 29 year marriage; but January 1st, 2020 will live in our memories as one of the best New Year’s celebrations we ever had.