Apparently, somebody out there in the universe decided to test my resolve to be spontaneous and live in the present because I've had an awful lot of time to do that lately. Between trying to help get some of my loved ones off safely on a European adventure, then helping with house sitting an extra day, and now finally home to get yet another snow day, I haven't had much time to do anything but live in the moment.
Arctic temperatures will do that with anybody. But as someone who works out of my home it makes it hard to get any work done. It also makes it hard to enjoy the snow when you risk frostbite going outside. So what is a mom or anyone who works out of their home to do?
Well I'll admit, I haven't done much writing. But I knew two things in advance before the storms hit. One, that I wasn't going to get much done over the weekend because of the upcoming prep for my daughter's trip with her grandparents and aunt. Two, that the winter weather might derail my plans to get home by at least a day. In anticipation of both these things I made a decision. I assessed what paid work I needed to get done before leaving and worked steadily away at it to get ahead as much as I could before the weekend. Then I left my computer at home and only kept up with emails, etc. on Nook. That way I wouldn't be staring at my computer bag feeling guilty because I wasn't getting it out and working. I would be forced to live in the here and now and get my family members sent off. I would do what needed doing to help my brother care for the animals and house for an extra day because it was SO COLD, and I knew he'd appreciate the help. Then when things had calmed down some and the roads were in better shape, I came back home and spent the evening being with my husband and son.
Did the snow and cold get me off track from returning to my normal routine. Of course. But my work isn't going anywhere. I still can think of tasks I want to do when my schedule finally gets back to normal again. I can catch up on reading and scribble little notes to myself for ideas for things as I wait. And despite all the things that kept me from working or even from a normal sleep schedule, I'm doing okay. All these things have just made it more of a blessing that I work out of my home. I can afford to be flexible and I will be that much more eager to work when the day-to-day routine resumes.
So take that arctic cold! Resolution for 2014 still being met.
How about you? How has the snow and cold affected you and your normal routine? Has it been a blessing or has it made you a little crazy?
The arctic cold prompted me to move my laptop to the kitchen table (out of a colder room) and work hard to continue preparations for a Women's Bible Study that I will be teaching this month. We had to cancel this week, but hopefully next week we can begin. It's a study of Old Testament characters, a book I wrote, that focuses on people who came face-to-face with God and their ultimate decision for or against him. Yes, many of the Bible characters did not go with God. People would be surprised to know some of the decisions recorded in the Bible by real people. I've spent several days studying and have profited from the study. I hope next week when the ladies arrive to study with me, that I will have studied enough to bring them through these live-changing stories.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like an interesting topic for your Bible Study group. What a great way to turn what could be a negative (with the bad weather driving out of your normal work area) into something positive. Great! Thanks for sharing that with me.
DeleteI am going crazy, although your post is really good advice. Sometimes we know we will get nothing done and so why do we beat ourselves up about it?????? Besides KB not having preschool this week, I haven't been able to get out of the house much to go to a coffee shop and had an ear infection and my main babysitters--GRANDMA/GRANDPA--have been sick. :) There's always next week and the list grows on. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry to hear you were sick too. Being stuck inside doesn't help either. One of the things that helped me was the fact that I was on my parents farm during the worst of the cold. So even though we couldn't go out much we still had to go outside. There were animals to care for. That helped. Being sick and trapped can make anyone crazy. It's hard to be rational about anything when you're not feeling good. The weather is better for us here in KY. Hope it is for you in St. Louis too.
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