My love/hate relationship with snow days

Posted On January 25, 2021

Snow days! When I was a kid, this was the BEST thing that could happen anytime from October until April! (After all, I do live in Iowa.)

A free day to do WHATEVER I WANTED! It was like the calendar just stuck in an extra day with no responsibilities or expectations except be lazy and relax or even go outside and build a fort or go sledding.

Fast forward to a 48-year-old who suffers from anxiety and snow days become something else entirely.

I won’t lie–I still love the thought of them. But then as the day wears on, it becomes more and more stressful to me.

Because it does just feel like a little gift–an extra day just given to you, smack dab somewhere in the workweek. The problem is now that I’m an adult, there are just so many possibilities of things I COULD and SHOULD be using a snow day for, that it becomes overwhelming, and I end up at the end of the day stressed out at what could’ve been. I end up running around half-assing a few things instead of whole-assing one thing — and it always feels better whole-assing something.

First off, today, I slept in a little, which didn’t start me off on a good note. I’d rather get up and feel like I have time to relax before I get some things done. But nope. Didn’t happen. Just keep on snoozing. And snoring, as the husband would tell you.

I did manage to write a story I needed to write for the Des Moines Register, but other than that, I pretty much putzed around with this and that, wishing that I could blink my eyes and make my kitchen clean or my laundry put away.

Here’s what my day has consisted of:

• Reading 2 chapters of “Badass Habits” by Jen Sincero, taking notes and highlighting. I read “You Are a Badass,” her first book, and loved it, so now I’m reading how to create Badass Habits. Obviously, I am not finished reading the book since I’m currently writing about how I don’t have Badass Habits yet.
• Rewatching 5 episodes of “Schitts Creek.”
• Reading 3 chapters of some book on my Kindle. It’s not great, but I’m invested now so I keep reading.
• Playing 2 games of Chinese Solitaire on my phone.
• Tidying up the area beside my bed, including straightening up the bookshelf.
• Filling up my essential oil diffuser and using it for the first time in probably 10 months. Mmmmm, lavender…
• Taking my Christmas clothing to the basement (which was previously just lying beside my bed).
• Drinking at least 4 cups of coffee.
• Doing 2 loads of laundry.
• Creating a pile of books to take to school to give away.
• Going pee 27 times (see “Drinking at least 4 cups of coffee”).
• Making the most horrible supper ever–no joke. We have no food in the house, so I’m scrounging through the freezer and fridge, and let’s just say it did NOT go well. Let’s hope I can get out of the house tomorrow to at least buy something decent. You know it wasn’t a good meal when your husband asks, “How old were those brats?” and I had been thinking the same exact thing as I ate half of mine.
• Trying to write this blog post several different times.
• Cleaning out my underwear drawer.

If you just glanced at the list, it might LOOK like I did a lot, but if you actually looked at my house, you’d never know I did anything of importance. The kitchen still needs cleaned, the bathroom sink still has toothpaste stuck to it and the dirty laundry still overfloweth.

And as I’m writing this, I got the announcement that we have another snow day tomorrow.

Cue the anxiety.

If only we could go back and experience snow days like kids again.

Photo by Vintage Film Pics from StockSnap