It’s a new year and a new you, and ever since Christmas you’ve been working hard to get back on track. You’ve kept watch of those calories, and have done well on that to-do list of mundane things that add up if you don’t keep on top of them like cleaning, laundry, and going to the gym. You’ve done everything right, and you’ve hit your groove…. And now it’s snowing.

It rarely snows enough to cover the ground in the southeastern states, and if it does happen it usually melts within a few hours. But, not last week. Last week, it was straight ice. The snow on the back porch was so deep and so frozen you couldn’t open the back door. Overnight we went from taking care of business and hauling ass to parking it on the couch for a week. As if mother nature noticed our progress and said, “Alright, time for a break!”

Now that the snow is gone, and everyone is again in the swing of things, it’s funny to look back and see the frustration we had with the immobility we were faced with. No doubt, that frustration came from a year’s worth of living in a pandemic. Starting in March of 2020, a lot of us were, in a sense, put on house arrest due to a new disease that no one knew anything about. But, we are going to heal, we are healing, and some day we will be completely healed from the trauma that came with being shut in.

In the meantime though, let’s not forget the excitement that a snow day can bring. The next time it snows so much that it closes down schools and work places, go out and embrace it. Make those cookies and that big pot of chili. Pile on the couch and watch all three Mighty Ducks movies. Break out the rickety old sleds and shred the favorite neighborhood hill just like you used to do, before pandemic life. Don’t worry about the extra pounds you could put on during your days of being stuck at home because the snow will melt, and soon you’ll be back in the gym lifting weights and eating kale. So go ahead and enjoy. After all, it’s nature’s way of saying, “Here! You deserve a few days off!”