Here in Delaware (and all up the East Coast) we've been socked by what's now been dubbed The Blizzard of '09. (Why don't we give blizzards names like we do hurricanes? Isn't it essentially the same kind of weather event?) Between late Friday and early Sunday, almost 20" of snow fell on my house...and my driveway...and my deck...and my sidewalks...and my poor little Japanese maple tree.
Because I'm entering my third trimester, I had a perfect excuse to not even open the front door, other than to look out and say "oh my!" While the rest of the world freaked out over missing the last shopping weekend before Christmas, I discovered the perfect recipe for a great snow-bound day:
1) Send your husband and child away the night before to visit relatives in a non-snowy location. (This is a crucial step, people.)
2) Wake up to a quiet, peaceful house. Put on your favorite set of pajamas and fuzzy slippers, and turn on the radio to the all-Christmas-song station.
3) Bake all your favorite cookies, sampling dough as often as you need to. Call your besties while the cookies are in the oven, so it's almost like you're together, if only briefly.
5) Pull all the gifts out of their hiding places and set up wrap-shop in the family room, in front of the giant TV. Spread out your bags, paper, tape, etc. all over the room if you need to -- go ahead, there's no one else there, and you don't have to clean up until tomorrow!
6) Watch as many cheesy rom-coms as necessary while you wrap gifts. These include favorites such as Love Actually (one of my recent faves), Say Anything (one of my teenage faves), and Mamma Mia (don't judge...it was a snow day...)7) Call your husband and child periodically to update them of the big storm, to ask how they're doing, and to remind yourself that the alone-ness is temporary.
8) Optional activities include, napping, reading, writing letters, yoga, playing solitaire, snuggling with your cats, and staring at your beautiful Christmas tree while sipping hot chocolate.
Although it's important to stay as busy as possible on these home-alone snow-bound days so you don't feel lonely or stir crazy, be sure all your activities are relaxing. The following is a list of things you must not do:
- Vacuuming, dusting, scrubbing bathrooms, or any other type of cleaning
- Laundry (this includes folding and putting away laundry, too)
- Checking work e-mail or trying to get a jump on deadlines you're worried about
- Talking on the phone to any relative who will heap their stress on you
- Paying bills or balancing the checkbook
- Any type of sweaty exercise
shoveled and plowed out your driveway and sidewalk three times, but also have called to check on you periodically.Be sure, too, to enjoy the gorgeous sunrise when the snow finally stops falling the next morning.
Your version of a snowbound day is much better than mine. Mine consisted of two little boys begging to go out in the snow (no way) while it was still coming down heavily and a beleaguered husband who still owned only a shovel. Super, duper cabin fever set in, and Sunday was not much better. I'm thinking of living with my MIL for the winters. Seriously.
ReplyDeleteCool beans! Snow in Philly was actually much more fun than I thought it would be. Much more fresh snow, much less yellow snow, and just as little plowing as I expected. So I cleaned my house, walked to a friend's, met up with people I haven't seen in a while, ate lots of food and drank hot toddies, and played in a park that the police had ever-so-nicely blocked off with caution tape so we were the first people to "illegally" play in it. Then, I helped a West African taxi driver navigate out of a snowdrift he'd driven himself into when I realized he'd obviously never driven in snow before. I have skills. Awesooooome.
ReplyDelete:)