Flashback: My first Chicago winter

Living in NJ, I experienced cold winters, snow, a few blizzards, a few Nor'Easters, frigid temperatures... the whole nine yards. But, it wasn't a constant... some winters were much better than others and for some reason, -10* in NJ feels so much warmer than -10* out here!!

Out there, as an adult, I rarely wore a coat in the winter and didn't even own a hat! My usual routine was from my house... to my car... to where ever I was going that was in an enclosed type of building and then from there.... to my car... to my house. Wind chills meant very little to me....

Now, let's flashback to when I first moved out here, shall we: I arrived the day after a blizzard dumped 14" of snow on my newly adopted city... The people out here just referred to those 14" as "a lot of snow".... this Jersey girl calls it a blizzard!

Anyway, I spent the next month or so freezing my you know what off...but I'm from Jersey... I'm tough... I've seen my share of winter weather and I could handle this... no problem!

Then one winter morning, I found myself at the train station waiting for the train to go downtown... I noticed everyone standing outside all bundled up wearing hats, scarfs, gloves, ear muffs... and I thought to myself, as I sat in the warm comfort of the car (my husband was waiting there with me) how uncomfortable these people looked all bundled up, standing just a few feet away from my car... But me, being a tough Jersey Girl and all, didn't need to be all bundled up like that... it wasn't "that" cold out.

I heard the train whistle and with that, I kissed my husband good-bye and hopped out of the car, wearing my winter coat, which was open (not zipped up/buttoned up)... no hat, no scarf, no gloves... no need... the train was coming and, just as I did in NJ, I went from my vehicle, to another form of "shelter"... I never really had to endure the elements.

I walked the few feet to stand with the rest of the people waiting for that train... I turned around and waved to my husband as he pulled out of the parking lot and watched him drive off and turned back to face the train tracks.

That's when it happened....

The wind kicked up and sent a bone chilling cold throughout my entire body... it was so cold that it hurt my face and literally knocked the wind out of me. There I stood, open coat, no gloves, no hat, no scarf and no earmuffs, wearing pumps... shivering! The train was in view, and under normal circumstances, would have been there already, but for some reason it stopped... within view, but out of reach.

As I stood shivering, I noticed the other people around me dressed much more appropriately for this weather than I was, as I started to do the shiver-dance... you know the movement that you do when you're cold to keep warm.

One person even had the audacity to say... "Boy, it's cold out this morning!" and I wanted to knock his hat off.

Finally, after only about 7 minutes... which seemed like 3 hours... the train pulled into the station... We all piled in and I think I spent the entire trip into the city shivering in my seat.

But, wait... there's more!

After we get downtown... I now have to walk several blocks from the train station to my job... with my closed coat (at least, by this point, I was smart and zipped it up!), no gloves, hat or scarf as the wind continues to rip through me.

I realized that day why they call Chicago the "Windy City"... even though that's not the real reason behind Chicago's nickname... but, on that day, I think it was Mother Nature's way of putting this Jersey Girl in her place....

That night, I went to the store and bought a hat, scarf and earmuffs! (I already had several pairs of gloves at home... in a drawer)

The next morning, I stood waiting for the train at the train station with all of the other people, bundled up, looking as if we were all going to a ski convention. My coat was zipped up... I had on my hat, gloves, scarf, earmuffs and socks and sneakers on my feet (instead of the pumps from the day before).

And, although that wind continued to send shivers through my body, at least I was much warmer than the previous morning... and when the gentlemen from the previous morning said "Boy, it's cold out this morning", I nodded in agreement, sipping my hot coffee.

Shortly before the train arrived, I noticed a woman get out of a car... She waved to whoever it was that dropped her off and took her place with all the rest of us waiting for the train. She had on a long coat (open/not zipped up)... no gloves, no scarf, no hat, no earmuffs, wearing a dress/skirt and pumps.

As the wind kicked up again, I took another sip of my coffee and thought to myself... She must be from New Jersey!