Sneaux Day!

OK. It’s corny. Just keeping up the French/Gleaux thing……


We’re covered in at least 8 inches of fresh powder. And it’s still coming down. Glorious! As I sit at my desk in my third floor office, on top of a ridge in this tiny New England town of ours, I stare out my windows, which frame brown tree limbs, starkly rising, and sometimes swaying, in this winter wonderland of white. The wind howls; I hear it through the glass. As it blows, ice-laden snow swirls across the window panes, giving sound to the otherwise silent, beautiful scene.


Turning my thermostat up just one more degree, I gaze out, mind spinning with thoughts of everything I want to accomplish on this snow day.


Snow days are like free days. Pure gifts. Expanded time. With no ability to get to my office nearly a one-hour drive away from home—or not until my plow guy comes to rescue me anyway—I automatically saved two full hours which would have been spent just driving! My pool is closed as well; riding my stationary bike in my basement “gym” will save me another hour and a half. And aaah! The rare treat of the no make-up-pantyhose-high-heels-getting-dolled-up ritual just landed me another free thirty minutes. Snow day math!


Trying not to hyperventilate with this newly-found time on my hands, with full mug of coffee at fingertips, I plan to:
• Put in my daily quiet time. Read. Reflect. Pray.
• Catch up on all personal emails.
• Write this newsletter.
• Log into my work system and do everything I possibly can while working remote. Answer all emails. Keep tabs on the market. Make outgoing phone calls. Turn on cable business TV programs. I will try my darndest to work during market hours only. (Snow days are gifts, after all. Other work calls too!)
• Eat breakfast with my hubby. What a rare treat! I’m usually out the door before the sun comes up.
• Catch up on laundry during short work breaks. (I can almost never get completely caught up during normal work weeks. Can you?)
• Eat lunch with the kids. Whoa. Another rarity. (I think I’ll make hot chocolate. Williams Sonoma has the best mix ever. Have you tried their handmade marshmallows? Yummo.)
• Put a chicken in the oven and let it slow-roast all day. (Dinner on the table on a work night? Are you kidding?)
• Finish a book proposal. (Even with that industry in depression, it doesn’t hurt to keep trying!)
• Try to organize my thoughts and make lists for all the stuff I’m behind in. (Where do I start. I feel myself hyperventilating a bit: kids school papers, board responsibilities, thank you notes, organizing old magazines, de-cluttering the kitchen. Go into attack mode once the markets close.)
• Work on photo albums after dinner. (Nick will graduate in May and when asked if he’d rather I make him a hand-stitched needlepoint belt or present him with a photo book of his life, he said he wanted the book of his life. Wild! So I need to get crackin’. Lesson I learned: don’t under-estimate those precious photos! Put them in good order and try not to get hopelessly behind. Your kids treasure them more than you might realize.)
• Assemble four sunshine baskets. (Every month, I try to get four baskets delivered to people in need of a bit of cheer. I keep my eyes and ears open for someone who has just had surgery, lost a job, is faced with a major illness or accident. It never fails; there are always at least four people a month. I save the wooden cartons that tangerines are packed in and use them for the base. Then I stuff them with paper filler and load them up with as many treats as fit in. Small treats. Could be French soaps, chocolate bars, a pack of stationery, tiny gift book. Simple things which might bring a bit of cheer to someone’s day. Try it. If everyone who reads this newsletter makes four baskets a month, we could be a few thousand points of light to people who need that energy!)


That’s it. That’s my snow day planned out. Mental free-for-all. If you live on the east coast, chances are, you’re snowed-in too. Don’t squander this time! Catch up on sleep and then, fly! And if you aren’t living under a snow drift right now, well, carry on, do your thing and make a difference in one way or another today. At least make a sunshine basket. Or two.


Blessings on your day!


Carolina