Yesterday, we had a snow day from school. With snow, sleet, and freezing rain coming down throughout the morning and early afternoon, school was cancelled.
Snow days are a rare treat. While it’s always nice to have a scheduled day off, those unexpected days off are a refreshing break from routine. Whenever I have a scheduled day off, I almost always plan something – make my doctor’s appointments, plan a little trip, get set up to do a project, make plans to have lunch and go out shopping with friends or with my mom, or reserve the day for catching up on grading for the university courses I’m teaching. But when those snow days come up unexpectedly, there are no plans that have been made, and it’s not safe to go out and travel the roads anyway.
On a snow day, I can enjoy leisure reading, a bubble bath, or time on Facebook with no guilt whatsoever. I can enjoy an extra long meditation session or bake something tasty and sweet. I can work ahead on things I know I have coming up. I can play some new songs on the piano – just for fun, not in preparation for any upcoming performance. There are no expectations; there’s no nagging voice in the back of my head, listing all the things I “should” be doing. I’ve been given permission to be totally in the moment and to ask myself what I feel like doing. That really feels great.
Do you have memories of spending “snow days” in fun ways as a child…or as an adult? How often do you allow yourself to have those days in which you have no agenda…no expectations for what should be accomplished by the day’s end? I enjoyed yesterday’s snow day very much, and I look forward to the next snow day. I now want to play with the idea of allowing myself to have that same experience more often…even when there is no inclement weather in the forecast.