I am certain that everyone enjoyed the snow day last month. I know my family sure did, but if you take a minute and think about it, what did you enjoy? Don’t get me wrong, I loved the snow, but at the same time I didn’t like it. We must have gone through at least a week’s worth of clothes for each child because here in the South, we don’t have “snow gear.” Everything gets wet, and when you’re wet, you get colder, and then you freeze. Then, you change clothes, of course. This is not a good cycle to keep repeating with three kids. Not to mention all the trash that came into the house as the kids came in and out. The ice and snow also fell on the tile floor, which means—yep, you guessed it—running kids plus wet tile floor equals wipe out.
Like I said, we really did enjoy the day, but here’s the kicker—I think what I did enjoy the most was the concept of a “snow day” down South (to my family and friends up north, you have no concept of this). We all heard it might snow, but did we really think it would? Especially like that? Most of us probably didn’t, and when it did, we were all excited and for most of us, all plans for that Friday were changed. We spent time with friends and family playing outside and riding around looking at our community together, not sitting on a couch or playing video games. We enjoyed each other’s company and made calls to friends and family and didn’t talk about work or school. We talked about what our kids were doing in the snow and how much fun they were having.
So, what does all this mean? Well, for me, it is simple. We need to step back and enjoy each other and spend time together. Most importantly, we need to do it more often and not wait on it to snow to have a snow day. My challenge is simple—every so often, pick a day and wake up the kids and surprise them with ice cream for breakfast. Take them out for a day of random fun outside or bring them to that new fun family place. Just get out and make your own “Geaux Day,” because that’s how we roll down South. ■
