Depending on who you listen to, the forecast is calling for blizzard like conditions and 12-22 inches of snow in the next roughly 24 hours. I just got the phone call. As a work-from-home mother with four children under the age of ten, it was the one phone call I dread most….
“This is School District 27J. School will be closed tomorrow due to inclement weather.”
I answered the call on speaker phone. Jacob immediately started cheering and ran upstairs to tell his half-asleep sister the good news. A minute later she was wide awake, squealing and dancing. It took a good 20 minutes to get everyone calmed down and tucked in.
The house is now quiet…and I’m left to my thoughts. My schedule tomorrow was all set. On top of a manuscript to finish reading and a (large) bucket full of e-mails to respond to, I have three conference calls and one Skype meeting scheduled… strategically scheduled around naps, cups of marshmallows and episodes of Yo Gabba Gabba. And now? I can see it all crumbling before my eyes…my productivity straight down the proverbial toilet.
But wait…what is this? Ah yes, it’s Joy…the Queen of Optimism coming back to life. I am not going to let this situation get the best of me. Yes, tomorrow is officially a snow day. Yes, I am going to have four children at home all day. Yes, I am going to be dealing with wet dogs in and out the back door. Yes, there will be mittens and snowy boots littering the floor. Yes…my work day is going to be screwed up.
But…the name of this blog is I Count it ALL Joy…so here goes.
Tomorrow, I will be full of Joy because…
- It is officially a snow day.
- I will have four adorable children to spend the entire day with.
- I have two dogs to watch run and play in the snow…quite entertaining actually.
- I will line up the wet mittens and snowy boots and serve big cups of hot chocolate to my kids and watch them smile as they drop in marshmallows one by one.
- My work day will be totally screwed up. (Hey, just because I’m the Queen of Optimism doesn’t mean I’ve completely lost my grip on reality.)
So come on winter….SNOW!! As far as I’m concerned….bring it!
And if you are a client or one of the people I have a conference call with tomorrow…well, I apologize in advance for the background noise. Remember…you can find the joy in anything…you just have to look for it.