Snow days in the Pacific Northwest are truly wonderful. Ice glazes the branches. Hipsters and hippies alike roam the closed streets, sporting North Face jackets and ski-flap caps. Snow clings to the trees the same way frosting clumps on a mini-wheat. And everywhere you go, people are friendly and helpful.
So why am I going crazy?
Pioneer woman, I am not.
I am officially disgusted with my own lack of fortitude. We were never in dire straits. Heck, even when our power went out I was still checking Facebook and texting friends on my smart phone… and we huddled in our lightless home (yeah, at noon on a fairly sunny day) for a whole two hours before walking down to our electricity-abled friends’ place. My worst issue during the whole winter storm had to be the fear that our freezer would defrost, thereby ruining my treasured stash of breast milk. (Scoff if you will, but that stuff is liquid gold!)
Why am I such a winter wimp? Perhaps it’s the fact that I live in 800 square feet with a very tall husband and a squirmy-wormy baby. Maybe it’s the psychological feeling of being trapped (when I tried to take Sweet Pea out for a ramble, a tire on her stroller popped. Curses!) Or maybe it’s just the sad truth that I’m a hard-core multitasker who can’t seem to handle gobs of unexpected free time. It makes me feel weirdly guilty. Like, why am I snuggling my kiddo and eating tons of chicken noodle soup when I could be recaulking the bathtub?
Seriously.
A coworker posted this chart on her Facebook page and I think it describes the harsh reality quite well:
All whining aside, though, it was an EXCELLENT opportunity to put Sweet Pea in her bear suit. (And doesn’t she just rock the look?)
If you want to read the blog post that inspired me on this subject, check out my friend Suzanne’s infinitely more thoughtful musings here.
How do you like to spend your snow days? Do you even GET snow days where you live–or do you spend your winters plowing through the drifts, laughing at wimpy Pacific Northwesterners?
Kate Diamond, Author 