Dear Frustrated Parents On A Snow Day

Dear Frustrated Parents On A Snow Day,

Snow days are inconvenient. When the call isn’t made until the morning of and the communication trifecta—simultaneous landline and cell phone calls, text messages, and emails—happens at 5:30 a.m., it’s particularly annoying.

For working parents, snow days are especially problematic. Rescheduling meetings and conference calls is a difficult task. Finding last minute childcare or working from home is sometimes an impossible one.

I get it. I really do. But let’s reframe the scenario and think about the safety of bus drivers; special education teachers who travel to and from multiple schools daily; janitorial staff members who are responsible for snow removal, cafeteria cleanup, and vomit sanitation; teachers who commute to work from distant towns and counties; and students who depend on clear sidewalks to get to school each day.

Take a deep breath and think of all the things to be grateful for on a snow day.

1. The chance to finally put Christmas decorations away. (You know who you are.)
2. The joy on your kids’ faces when you announce, “It’s a snow day!” These are the days they’ll remember.
3. Making pancakes from a box instead of the freezer. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, right?
4. Folding and putting laundry away so no one has to get dressed from a pile of wrinkled clothes on the dining room table.
5. The time to organize tax documents. 😂 JK! Don’t ruin your snow day with tax preparation.
6. Catching up on your favorite podcasts while you unload and load (and unload and load) the dishwasher. Some of my favorites are By The Book, Happier with Gretchen Rubin, Happier in Hollywood, Pantsuit Politics, Lovett or Leave It, Pod Save America, Mom and Dad Are Fighting, and What Fresh Hell. I could go on and on…
7. Giving your kids unlimited screen time while you read a book. YES YOU CAN! YES YOU CAN! YES YOU CAN!
8. Baking cookies and eating cookie dough straight from the bowl because counting (calories, screen time, glasses of wine, etc.) isn’t allowed on snow days.
9. Wearing comfy pants all day. Aaaaahhh.
10. Figuring out which summer camps still have early bird specials because summer vacation—the endless “snow day”—is just around the corner!

Gretchen Rubin recently suggested a great “try this at home” tip on her Happier podcast (episode 153). Funny enough, I listened to it while wearing comfy pants, folding laundry, and baking cookies eating cookie dough on a snow day. The tip is this: When faced with an unexpected and unwelcome circumstance—for instance, a snow day—try saying, “This is actually good for me,” and let the new perspective unfold.

Happy Snow Day! (This is actually good for me!)