Christmas is over and the month of January is speeding by. After Mom's birthday on January 6 there was nothing special about January for nine kids easily prone to cabin fever. Decorations were packed up no earlier than Mom's birthday, which is also Three Kings day and the Twelfth Day of Christmas. How could we put baby Jesus away before the kings had arrived to honor and visit him? But once the holidays were over, there was nothing but winter.
We just tried to get through it - once February started, we could look forward to Valentine's Day and winter vacation. Growing up, the occasional snow day was the only thing that kept us going in January. There was no Super Bowl Sunday. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a name in the news, not a federal holiday.
I think January temperatures were colder when we were growing up. Once we moved to Deerfield, just going outside required us to bundle up like the little kid in A Christmas Story (I can't put my arms down!) I recall days when we wore two pairs of socks and gloves just to keep from freezing on the walk to the bus stop. It was not unusual to be trudging to the bus when the temperature was a cold four degrees or lower. School was never canceled if it was cold or if snow was predicted. Unless a truly dangerous situation was happening, we went to school every day.
We needed to be at the bus stop by 8:05 am. Barbie and Cherie got their bus to the Catholic High School a few towns over at 6:45 (they needed flashlights to walk down the dark road in the winter). Mornings at our house were chaos, to put it mildly. There were many times the bus would arrive when we were only half-way up the lane, and we'd run with all our might to get on. Or we'd arrive and wait in the cold. If the bus was late, it could be a long time. Sometimes we'd get to the bus stop and wait, and wait, not knowing we had missed the bus by several minutes. But the rule was that we needed to stay there until at least 9:00. Then we could return home and Mom would drive us. But in the 55 minutes we waited, we'd have massive snow fights, slide on the frozen drainage trench next to the road, or eat anything in our lunches that was tempting. Anything to keep warm. Maybe that's why I love Florida weather so much.
There was some fun playing in the snow when we weren't in school. We'd divide into two teams and spend the better part of the day making snow forts. Stocking our forts with snowballs took another hour or two. Then, the battle would commence! It was over within ten minutes. We'd retire to the house where we'd pester Barbie and Cherie to make popcorn and hot chocolate.
Here's another way-back moment - if you wanted popcorn, you needed to make it on top of the stove in a covered pot with dried corn and oil. Except for Jiffy Pop, which burned easily on an electric stove, there was no other way to make popcorn. Barbie and Cherie were masters at shaking the pot so nothing burned and most of the kernels popped. Then they would pour melted Imperial over the top and mix - best thing you ever tasted! Hot chocolate also was made from scratch. There were no "instant" mixes. There was a recipe on the Hershey's cocoa can that required heating milk to just short of boiling and adding cocoa and sugar. Then, stir, stir, stir. Mom's biggest pots were put into service whenever we had popcorn and hot chocolate.
January weather was easier once we moved to Maryland - there was snow and cold, but not the dramatic freezing of the Midwest. It was just enough to make you feel the seasons, but snow rarely lasted more than a day. I was just enough older to sacrifice warmth and comfort for style. I don't know what it is about Jr. High that makes every kid think wearing a coat isn't cool. And hats, gloves, boots?? Only for nerds (or whatever we called them - I don't remember the word "nerd" being used until late in high school).
Then, there was Connecticut. January is a frozen wasteland. There's not as much snow as in Deerfield, but the temperatures would dip and everything would turn to ice. Not a good situation for walking down a hugh hill to catch the bus. If we missed the bus, we could go over the hill to the next bus stop. I remember trying to get up and over that hill one morning in smart, buckle strap pumps. I used the shoes 2" heels like ice picks, digging into the snow's icy crust to make another step. But I fell down on the ice repeatedly (and panty hose under a skirt was little protection). If I got one foot up, I'd loose my balance and slip again trying to push up with my other foot. I would have given up, but I needed to get to school for something important that day. The worst part of the ordeal was that when I finally crested the hill, I saw the bus stopped and waiting for me. As I got on, the entire bus erupted in applause - they had watched my epic saga the entire way! I was humiliated, but I arrived at school with my cute outfit intact!
