As I'm writing this we've gotten about 12 inches of snow in Denver within the past 24 hours.  Miraculous mid-April weather in Colorado-it makes me smile.  I absolutely delight in it.  With Todd out of town, me having a slightly strained hamstring and the roads sketchy for driving, I've been a total home body and loving it.  Don't we all relish in a snow day?  A day of forced relaxation, laying around, reading books or magazines, writing, sitting down to eat (rather than in the car or at a desk), clearing out drawers, slow shoveling, playing with the dogs, watching movies, puttering.  Snow day extraordinaire!
 
It is ironic how one of the most coveted, sacred, and valuable non-tangibles in life is time.  And yet we savor little of it.  It's like furiously stuffing ourselves at a pie eating contest.  We jam our schedules full, being wildly and impressively productive, (if only self-impressed), and yet left yearning to have more time.  We vaguely remember what it was like as a kid to read a book on a never-ending summer day.  We cherish memories of afternoons at the lake, senses glazed as we melt into nothingness under the sun, hearing the waves slosh under the dock and motorboats buzz in the distance.  Or the times when snow piled window high, school was cancelled and we sledded with bread bagged-feet in pack books, later to thaw by the fire while sipping hot cocoa. Ah those were the days.
 
Why do we do that?  Act as if it's over and we can never have that again?  We set up life in a way that aside from vacation, we rarely lounge or putter.  We are seldom unscheduled with the option of nothingness.  We are conditioned to think what we seek is "out there" amidst the bustle of the world.  Oddly, my greatest sense of wholeness and fulfillment occurs in the spontaneous freedom of flow.  When there is nothing to do, nowhere to be-especially when there is nowhere I can go.  Snow days are the best.
 
Losing perspective
If many of our greatest memories involve moving slowly, doing nothing, having nowhere to be or playing and puttering, what prevents us from taking more snow days?  By leaving it up to nature, though it is a surprise and delight when it happens, it's not exactly claiming our time.  We lose perspective looking at all that must get done, all the piles and stacks and projects and things we should do.  Listen, if you are an active person who is interested in life, there's always going to be exponentially more to do than there is time.  The key is regaining perspective about what is most important to you.  Is having an impeccable laundry room your greatest priority and what you will remember and cherish for years to come?
 
The hurdle of course, is taking a "snow-day" when the sun is shining or everyone else is working.  It'd be different living in Spain where culture dictates an afternoon siesta or with new employees in England receiving 20 vacation days, or Germany's receiving 30 days per year!  (Someone with 10 years experience might have 6 weeks paid vacation! **)  Every cultural norm has to start somewhere.  Maybe this one starts with you.  Maybe it starts with a snow-hour.
 
We lose track of what life is for amidst life maintenance.  It's okay to play hooky now and then, to enjoy life.
 
Top Reasons to Take a Snow Day (or hour)