As surprising as it was, I enjoyed the post-Christmas snow last week. There is nothing more exciting than seeing the white puffy flakes falling from the sky because it somehow brings out the "kid" in me. For some reason just the prospect of snow brings a smile to my face. Maybe it's the idea that we don't have the privilege of seeing it that much, or maybe it's because any type of inclement weather often provides us with an unplanned "vacation" day, but regardless, I love snow.
After getting the girls dressed in their scarves and mittens, we went outside for a personal encounter with the "white stuff." The children were of course busy with their snowballs and trying out their scooters in the snow, but in the midst of all the hustle and bustle of their excitement, I took the time to notice something that snow has always brought to me....silence. Have you ever noticed how incredibly quiet the outside world is when it snows? I know there is some scientific reason for the sound barrier, but all of that knowledge is of no consequence to me. I just enjoy the timely buffer from the outside world that has been so graciously provided by this meteorological event. Just as it has all those times before, standing in front of my house, taking photographs of my girls and feeling the flakes fall softly upon my nose, made me remember how important the "quiet" of life is, but this year the reflection was a bit different. If you are anything like me, from the moment that alarm sounds in the morning to the moment I have the privilege of crawling back into my haven each night, my life is crazy. It's packing lunches, making beds, dressing children, giving kisses, buckling car seats, dropping off, picking up, attending meetings, have conversations, meeting deadlines, responding to emails, answering phone calls (which I despise), making plans for dinner (yet another thing I despise), giving baths, checking homework, tucking in, saying prayers, folding laundry...so on and so forth. Life for me and so many others has become a complete rat race.
So what lesson was the "snow" trying to teach me? What wise words were attempting to be imparted to my life? Clearly I, like many of my friends and colleagues have far too many irons in the fire, but as I have told Jimmy before, of the things that I do each day, which items can I delete and still have some semblance of an effectively run home? Do I not fold the laundry? Do I not read the bedtime story? Do I not pack the lunches? Well of course not. Those are not expendable items. What is expendable is my USE of time. And I am, unfortunately, a terrible manager of time. I am the queen and self proclaimed master of procrastination!
I have often heard it said that someone can gauge the priorities of another by assessing where their time is spent. In other words, you can't say that you value cooking if over the course of your week you don't cook. Likewise, you can't make yourself believe that you value your solace and personal quiet time if you never take time for yourself and reflection. And as much as I say I value personal quiet time and reflection, I seldom take the opportunity to participate and enjoy it. And further, how can I hear God's voice if I (like so many others) are incessantly paying attention to alarm clocks, deadlines, ringing phones, and incoming text messages? Seeing and truly experiencing the snow last week made me realize however, that this must become a recognizable priority in my life and not an expendable moment of my day. For my own sanity and my own personal growth I must begin making time for quiet and solace this year. Already I am able to see (through this blog for example) how valuable continual personal reflection can be...
Usually when it snows around here, it is gone the next day. This post-Christmas snow, however, was relentless in it's pursuits of "hanging around." By Thursday, I could still see some evidence of the winter storm's visit, and as I was watching my dogs tip-toe through the slushy mess I couldn't help but remember something my Mawmaw said many moons ago. She always told us, "When snow lays around like this, it means that it is waiting on more." For the kid in me, I hope her wise words come to fruition. I would LOVE the opportunity to experience a snow day in the new year. For the adult in me, I would enjoy a subtle reminder to take a moment to slow down and just BE QUIET. :)
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