In Snow Time

One nice thing about this series of snow days we've been having is that it has forced us to S-l-o-w D-o-w-n!  I know this is important. But sometimes I forget that it is important. Slowing down, doing less, spending more time paying full attention to what we are doing: it is SO important. For Oliver, I think it is one of the more important things that we do to help him get on in this world without a whole lot of frustration. I've also come to believe that it is a vital part of my own mental health. And it just plain helps me to be a better parent. I mean, just because women are good at multi-tasking doesn't mean that we can and should multi-task. At least not every waking moment.

So that's what we've been doing this past week, a whole lot of living moment to moment. In retrospect I see that it took a few days to calm down. It took some time to just relax into the stillness of the world around us. Today was day six of our snow-bound program and I think we got it just about right. Nothing was rushed. I wasn't obsessively checking my e-mail, desperate for outside contact. And I'm so far from feeling cabin-fever that I was disappointed today when we didn't get all the snow they had warned about. Sitting together with my kids in their room this afternoon, cheeks still rosy from sled-riding, I was totally filled up.

Tomorrow we will start easing back into the wide world of snow-plowed streets and obligations. I hope I remember that just because I can do everything it doesn't mean that I should do everything.

But to remind me I will wake up to these lovely stained glass hearts that the boys and I spent the afternoon making. Before he fell asleep tonight, Sami insisted that he and Oliver decorate the window next to my bed so that I might wake to their sight in the morning.

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