Peek-a-boo and Blizzards

All babies love peek-a-boo!  The baby's big smile appears when the face they were staring at reappears when hands shift. I contend that the peek-a-boo-er loves this game just as much or maybe even more. How simple it is to delight a baby with a simple cover-up/reveal game! As it snowed and then melted this week, I'm reminded of this simple game.

Last week as the blizzard began and the snow fell, my motivation to do routine "stuff" lessened. I found myself sitting and watching it snow. I snapped pictures showing how the deck bench was collected in inches and the whiteness next to the cedar was striking. I baked cookies because I had time. I watched an old episode of an old series on Netflix because I had time. Then I watched another and another and another. I saw a friend post on twitter that she read a book and added #blizzardbook. So I went on my kindle, bought a book and read and read and read and finished it in a day and a half because I had time. Then I cooked more. And watched it snow more.

As the snow stopped and the clean-up began and the school and Federal Government announced closures, I had more time. Some I used to shovel. Some to do more cooking. Much more time spent reading and watching old episodes on Netflix.

Today I taught again (Feb. 2nd...last time I taught was Wed, January. 20th). My alarm went off at 5:30am. I arose, showered, drove my husband to the Metro and headed to work. I taught 23 great kids all day long. I barely stopped, on my feet all day long, guiding all the lessons and transitions and squeezing in one more thing to make-up for all the days we missed.

A week ago Saturday during the blizzard, the deck bench that gathered inches of snow eventually was completely buried in the snow. But today, I see it again! Somehow when was covered completely by the white blanket of snow, my motivation to do "stuff" also got covered up. Somehow that snow blanket whispered to me to rest. Somehow that snow blanket let me feel a bit like a bear. I hibernated. I stayed in my house. I read stories, watched stories , rested, cooked, rested some more.

I can't control when the next nature-induced hibernation will come but when it does, I will fully embrace it. Maybe a snowstorm is mother-nature's way of playing peek-a-boo with us, allowing us to close our eyes and rest. Then, when the white blanket melts away, we smile widely, just as the baby in the peek-a-boo game does, feeling refreshed and motivated to return to our busy, routined lives.