January

I've always hated January...you know, back to school, holidays are over, nothing to look forward to until Spring. I can remember one year that I loved January...

January 1984 - I got a ton of games for Christmas 1983; Monopoly, Clue, those games that bridge you from Candy Land to grown up games like Trivial Pursuit and Pictionary. I also got new ice skates for Christmas so Christmas vacation (yes, we called it Christmas vacation in Catholic school) was spent ice skating, playing board games, drinking hot chocolate...we were like a freaking Christmas song. Alas, vacation came to an end and I returned to school. For 6th grade we were mixed with 7th and 8th graders for homeroom. I remember watching some of the older girls putting on mascara in homeroom and feeling completely inadequate and childlike (which, lets face it, I was). Anyway, by the end of the school day my eyes really hurt and I couldn't stop rubbing them! We went back to our homeroom for dismissal and Mrs Bischoff handed out the brightly colored "infectious disease" parent information form for conjunctivitis...aka PINK EYE! So, I took the form home and my mom took one look at my eyeballs and made an appointment with the pediatrician. Back in 1984 they still excluded for pink eye so once the doctor examined my eyes and the prescription was dispensed I was free from school for the rest of the week! It was like Christmas vacation all over again! Staying up late to play board games, sledding, ice skating, hot chocolate! So. Awesome.