I'm Dreaming of a Peaceful Snow Day

  This post was written six years ago, before Zoom classes replaced the joy that was a serene snow day. A moment of silence, please, in honor of all snow days past.

It's snowing. And snowing. And snowing. I finally got the snow day I've been hoping for.

And I am at loose ends.

When I was single (many, many years ago) and living by myself, snow days were a lovely gift. They came with permission to sleep in, do whatever I wanted and hang out in my pjs all day if I wanted to. And I often wanted to.

When I was a newlywed, this changed very little. My husband's office didn't do snow days, so my snow days proceeded much as they always had. Sure, a few household things made it onto the to-do list for the day, but I didn't feel too obligated to stray from my usual snow day plan, though I made sure to shower and put on real clothes before he came home.

Reiseblogger via Pixabay

When I became a parent, the rules changed. Suddenly, someone else was hanging around for the duration of my snow day, and she wanted to be entertained. This was fun most of the time, and indoctrinating my daughter into my "all day in our pjs" plan took very little persuasion.

As my daughter grew older, she made her own snow day plans, and picking up wet clothes, making hot chocolate and trying to get a few things done around her activities began to impact my lazy day-at-home-plans. When the weather was bad enough to keep my husband at home, too, I managed to get some writing done during their jaunts outside.

These days, my husband and I are empty nesters and technology has made it possible for both of us to work from home on my snow days. As the partner who works from home for at least part of every day, this requires some adjustment on my part. I love having him here, but our work styles are very different. I work best in silence and I put on a sweater when I get cold. He sets the thermostat higher, likes music in the background and frequently makes noise in my quiet house. This is only fair, of course, since he lives here, too, and I have no right to complain, especially some of those noises come from things like emptying the dishwasher and running the snow blower. Still, as the person who works from home on a daily basis, I find myself struggling to accomplish the things I set out to do on my beloved snow days.

Jill111 via Pixabay

This, too, has changed. I'm less likely to curl up with a book, or stretch out on the sofa and watch a movie. The time available in a snow day, like currency, is finite and I want to spend it wisely. I usually sleep in, nearly always write and try to do some adulting (household projects, neglected to-do list items, laundry) as well. Still, these days go much too quickly.

As I look out on the beauty just outside my window, it seems only right to take a deep breath and seek to inhale a dose of the serenity the snow on the trees evokes. An antidote to the need to succeed that accompanies the lists I make and the tasks I set for myself, maybe it's trying to tell me something.

Like it's (still) okay to spend the day in my pjs.