Image by Lorri Nussbaum www.keeperscards.com
I should begin with a caveat.
With the exception of seven months last winter, I have had the privilege of earning my fulltime income from within the confines of my home for more than eight years.
On the one hand, this means that when I wake to eight inches of snow, there is no chance that my place of employment will be closed. On the other hand, my biggest problem is adjusting to the glare off the snow that comes in through my corner office windows.
We had a good snow one night last week. Getting home from my evening outing was a little dicey and I felt sorry for my twenty-something children who live at home and have jobs that start early in the morning (6:00 a.m. for one, 6:45 for the other). Because of the types of businesses they are, neither employer is inclined to call snow days or even delay.
Here are 5 things this snow day showed me.
1. My son is not easily deterred. Okay, I knew that. But he was out before bedtime doing a first round of shoveling and planning to shovel again at 5:00 in the morning. While I was fussing about how I wished he did not have to leave for work at that ridiculous hour, he calmly accepted reality and prepared for it as best he could.
2. My daughter gets her act together. She was not happy when she got the early morning call that the childcare center where she works would not close or delay because none of the other major centers in town were doing so. I heard her slamming around and declaring she was going to break the rules and wear sweat pants to work and there had better be enough kids to make this worthwhile. When she came home at the end of a overly long shift, she was fine. They did have kids, but were short on teachers and the cook, so she stepped up and cooked both breakfast and lunch for everyone in the center and did whatever needed to be done. She vented, then she performed like a professional and came home satisfied that she had done her job well.
3. Life goes on. Although lots of places closed in the face of accidents and pile-ups, not every place did. There were kids at the childcare center because there were parents who got up and went to work themselves. The plows do their thing, traffic on the main roads helps, and the city keeps on going. I’m sure there’s a metaphor about life in there somewhere.
4. I have turned into a snow wimp. I grew up in northern Illinois and lived there again as an adult. Actually, winters in Colorado are not nearly as nasty, in my opinion. But I guess I got all the snow energy out of my system when I was younger and in Illinois, because I Do. Not. Like. It. I had two appointments on that snowy day and I canceled them both. If I have an option, and I do, I stay inside and fantasize that somebody will bring me a hot breakfast.
5. I have much to be thankful for. Kids who have grown up after all. A warm home. A way to earn a living that lets me keep my life in balance. Neighbors who look out for us. A generally mild climate that spawns hope for better days.
• What has the weather been like in your neck of the woods, and what has it showed you about your life?
