Timeline--1970

In grade one, I was enjoying school, although all my report cards describe me as a “shy, quiet little girl”. I learned fast and my marks were good. Not knowing about many jobs for women, I alternated between saying that when I grew up I wanted to be a waitress, like my mom, or a teacher. It was also around this time that I first heard the gospel. See (My Testimony: Part One).
My grade one teacher, Miss Wightman was a good teacher, but she wasn’t as warm a character as my kindergarten teacher. One day, in the winter, my sister and I had gone home for lunch, as usual. We were latch-key kids. We had a key to the house on a piece of yarn, tied around our necks. My mom's hours of work at the restaurant were staggered, so she’d be there to send us off to school, leave lunch for us and be gone a few hours, then be home to cook dinner and then she’d be gone again after that. This resulted in my sister and I learning to fend for ourselves, or rather, for her to fend for us. I was a typical younger sister, and I let her do all the work.
Anyway, after lunch, we headed back to school. (The picture above is of that house, taken 25 years later, after new siding, windows and roof. The structure was the same, except that back then the porch had windows on three sides. The snow was typical of winters up north.) We came out the front door instead. We closed the door to the house behind us. It locked automatically. The key we had around our necks was for the back door only. When we tried to open the porch door, we found it was frozen shut by ice. We were little girls, and it wouldn’t budge for us. We were trapped. My only concern was that when we did get out, I’d be in trouble for being late. I had seen Miss Wightman’s temper against other students, and I didn’t want to experience it myself. I wanted to be well-thought-of. My sister was more concerned about how long we’d be stuck there. We knew my mom wouldn’t be coming home for a few more hours, and cell-phones were still science fiction back then, unless you counted the communicator on Star Trek or the shoe phone that Maxwell Smart had.
Anyway, our neighbour happened by and we waved frantically and shouted to get his attention. I think less than an hour had gone by but it felt much longer, and we were already feeling the cold. He rescued us and my sister started to walk to school. I panicked and started to cry. I told her I couldn’t go because I would get sent to the Principal’s Office. Back then they still used the strap and I was sure my offence was worthy of it. I was terrified. My sister told me she’d talk to my teacher and explain what happened. That didn’t console me. Again, I was dragged up the hill to school, crying and protesting. When we arrived, I hid around the corner of the hallway, sobbing, while my sister (she was in grade three), explained the situation to my teacher.
Much to my surprise, she took me in without yelling at me or sending me to the Principal’s Office for the strap. I guess she saw I had suffered enough. I took my place on the floor with my class. I was still choking back sobs while my classmates eyed me with curiosity. I was just embarrassed at that point. It was such a traumatic day, yet I clearly remember the lesson was about fractions and she had a picture of a pie that was divided into four pieces, up on the easel. I guess I remember because I was trying to concentrate on the lesson and get control of myself.