Snow Days

The thermometer in my car tipped briefly to -13 at one point yesterday morning!
I have snow piled so high at the end of the driveway that pulling out to the street is an adventure.
The forecast for the weekend into Monday is for another 12 inches.

Oh boy!

You know, it was an easy winter until mid January, but as an old time New Englander once told me, the weather always averages out over time.  You have a lack of snow and warm temperatures and sooner or later, you'll pay for it.

We're paying for it now.

I'm always looking for a lesson in life's experiences.
So, this morning I read something Mark wrote,
He said to them, "Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest for awhile"

I work 32 hours/week as an emergency room RN. That doesn't sound like full time, but ask anyone who does it and they'll tell you, it feels like full time.  It is a physically, emotionally, and intellectually draining profession.  We do it because it is in our blood. We hate it and we love it and when we walk away from it we feel it pulling us back.

Then I work as a union president.
I spend at least as much time doing it as I do nursing.
I have meetings 3 or 4 evenings a week, and when we start negotiations and it really gets busy.
Then there's emails, texts, phone calls, 2 Twitter accounts, 3 Facebook accounts, and a blog.
My day starts at 5:00 and ends, hopefully, around 10:00.

And I love it.
I wouldn't trade it for the world.
I love making a difference in the lives of my patients and their families. and I love the chance to help my members, to watch them grow into leadership positions, to develop their own voice, to advocate for their union and their profession.

But Mark has a point. I recognize the need for down time, for reflection, for rest.
I recognize it, I'm just having trouble finding an open spot on my calendar to schedule it.

Maybe that's the life lesson of a snowstorm.
Roads get closed, meetings get cancelled, and our daily schedules grind to a temporary halt.
And yet, despite the disruption is our so important calendars, the world keeps on turning and the sun comes up again.

I hope someday to learn to balance work and rest, I guess for now I have Snow Days.