What a Week: Snow Days

Snow days

January in New England—a good time to remember that we don’t control everything. Especially the weather. Alas, my plans to visit with friends in person fell through, due to snow and frizzle earlier this week. Today, we have our first real storm of the year, and it’s another day mostly indoors (Ollie really wishes that he could say the same). January is the time of snow days.

This morning, I sat by the fire and read before my dad made French toast, in honor of the Boston tradition. Certainly, this is not “the big one” (i.e., anything resembling the Blizzard of ’78). Instead, we had a peaceful morning watching the snow fall softly outside. Ollie has interjected to say that it’s still horrible and that his new coat is worse than the old one.

A good reminder to rest

January is a also good reminder to rest. Rest and calm was certainly a theme this week, with my busy mind and the post on getting rest while traveling. It’s hard to remember to take a breath and slow down a bit, because most things are not as urgent as they seem. And some things are important enough to give them the time that they are due.

Reading

Goodness, Flow was the right book for this week. I’m reading about the importance of being able to focus and filter out the inessential, as well as about the importance of finding something interesting and challenging in the smallest of circumstances. I find the latter absolutely critical in finding wonder in life—that skill unlocks so much. Sets us free, really.

Listening

I’m catching up on a lovely creativity podcast, Inside Creativity, by creative coach Elin Lööw. Elin focuses on creative lives that “feel good from the inside,” in other words, the creative process is as important as the end result. If you’re struggling with your creative process, I can’t recommend her enough. You can find her podcast on popular platforms.

Upcoming

• Travel—A fun, and definitely peculiar, museum in Split that you can’t miss when you visit
• Eat—A main course dish with blood oranges
• Sundry Wonders—Snowy snaps to feature, I’m sure

Probably another post. I’m working on going back to four posts again.

Until then, take good care of you, and I hope that your week has times of rest.