Merry Christmas 2022! This Christmas will go down in history as the first one in many years that I'm not spending it in Detroit. It's the first one that neither of my parents are around to share the holiday season with. It's also the first one in a long time where the inclement weather that swept across most of America just before the holiday was coined by weather folks as "The Nightmare Before Christmas". Temperatures plunged into below freezing as a wintry mix descended across the U.S. Thankfully the actual snowfall was less than 3 inches in my neck of the woods so not the worst I've seen. But the temps reached as low as -8 and with the threat of burst pipes required us to bleed out our faucets so they don't freeze.
There were two storms that brought much more snow that I was actually remember. The first was coined the Blizzard of 1996. It took place between January 6 - 8. I was a fresh doe-eyed (*LOL*) 23 year old living on my own in the Washington D.C. area. I was almost a year in my first corporate job. I was a consultant assigned to work for then Bell Atlantic and had relocated to the D.C. area for the project. The storm bought almost two feet of snow to where I lived. I was pretty much trapped in my apartment for a few days. I do recall walking to the local grocery store a day or so later and seeing people sliding groceries with sleds. I remember too spending that time calling a few mutual fund companies and starting some retirement investments. I will say my Dad was good about teaching me the power of saving money. Going on a slight tangent I do wish that high schools taught financial planning to kids. I do credit Black Enterprise with teaching me about stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. But if I wasn't proactive about learning about money, I would not know about it till much later.
The other big storm I remember took place late January 2011. I was living in the west burbs of Chicago at the time. Again almost two feet of snow fell between several days. I still remember having to use a bucket to clear snow by the door to even be able to open it. I had to do a little bit at a time and then take multiple breaks. It took several days before the homeowner association cleared out the roads around me. The snow fell so fast and hard, drivers were stranded for miles in the northbound lanes of Lake Shore Drive. Many were trapped for hours by crashes in front of them, traffic behind them, and snow falling all around them. So glad I wasn't in that mess. Crazy times.
My Dad for as long as I could remember would recall the blizzard of 1978 that took place in Detroit. I was 5 at the time and have no recollection of it. But my Dad shared the story of how his car was trapped in all the snow and the roads weren't plowed since the focus was on the main streets. He mentioned needing to walk to the main street in our area and catch a bus so he could get baby formula for my younger sister Trina who was at the time a few months old. I imagine too that he had to clean quite a bit of snow as well around the house.
While this year's "Nightmare Before Christmas" storm pales in comparison to the three big storms I mentioned, my sisters and I decided that it would be better if we met closer to New Year's Day. The weather will be warmer by then in the upper 40s and 50s. So that's what we decided to do. Maybe it'll be the start of a new tradition. On the flipside it'll be the second New Year's Eve that I don't spend hanging out with Eugene and another friend of his who visit Chicagoland every year. Last year I couldn't attend because I had to work at Amazon though that got circumvented by my stone drama. His friend actually moved to Chicago this year so it'll be interesting to see what they do this year.
It'll be the first Christmas that Dom and I get to spend together as well. Usually I'm in Detroit and typically he visits his family before Christmas and is home alone for Christmas. So it'll be good to spend time together. We'll even be able to attend Christmas mass at our local church, a first there too.
Happy Holidays to you!
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