I grew up in Syracuse, NY. It is the snow capital of the State. Snow could fall anywhere between October and May.
Snow storms? No problem: We trick-or-treated in the snow, hunted for Easter Eggs on Easter Sunday in the snow and had Mother’s Day Brunch (with snow outside!).
Central New York is beautiful with its lakes, changing seasons and low humidity. But to live there you have to be ready to weather days, weeks and sometimes consecutive months with snow everywhere, and no sunshine to be found.
The silver lining was that every so often, when the snow piled just high enough, the temperature (or wind chill) dropped low enough below zero, that we would have a “snow day.”
A snow day was a day off! Some authority (the School Superintendent, the Universtiy President or even the occasional parent) would determine that the day was going to be a write off – a snow day. It was intermittent reinforcement, which was the hope that kept us getting up week after week. We knew that every so often, our duties would be cast aside and we could just take a pause.
Cancelation of school meant, any tests, maybe practices or lectures were rescheduled. Parents may even stay home. We would buckle down in our TV dens or dorms, celebrate the news, and almost always ended up outside playing in the fluffy white stuff.
Freezing cold we’d return for hot chocolate or maybe something stronger, to warm our bellies and let our extremities thaw out.
In the season of COVID, snow days may have lost their allure. Now a snow day means business as usual, no commute, no daycare, and telework. No “pause” in our responsibilities. In fact we have had essentially 10 months of “snow” days so the novelty has worn off a bit.
This shift from “excitement and anticipation” toward “mundane and apathetic” illustrates the role perspective plays in our experience. Too much of something (in this case, a pause from our busy routines) has desensitized us to the beauty of the pause itself.
The next time you’re in for a snow storm, or even a rainy day, take a step back. Remember the rat race that many of us have been able to pause by working from home and ponder, maybe even appreciate the collateral beauty that we have been afforded by COVID.
This is not to underplay the emotional and fiscal devastation that the pandemic has dumped in our laps and hearts. COVID has brought unrelenting tragedy and loss.
But it has also allowed us to be more present, less hurried and home long enough to enjoy the snow.