Snow Day

We’re having a kinda-sorta Snow Day today in Colorado.

I say “kinda-sorta” because even though all around town everything is closed, our local school district remained open…not even on a delayed schedule! I do feel for the school officials because they have to make the call to cancel school by 4:30 a.m. and this storm was fairly puny then. It is, however, still snowing. And whether they cancel or not, half the people are mad at them.

Now, I haven’t had kids in school for ten years or so, so this really doesn’t affect me. In fact, since I work at home, Snow Days should really just be a blip on my radar, a quaint phrase that doesn’t apply to me, much like no shirt no service, or you must be this tall to ride, or speed limit signs.

Nothing is different from my regular days, except my husband is home.

He’s been well-trained, though, and knows that even if I’m staring off into nothingness, or completing the crossword puzzle, or sitting with my eyes closed, perhaps snoring delicately, I am “writing” and not to be disturbed.

But even though my job today isn’t affected one bit by a snowstorm, I remain unmotivated to do what I should be doing.

As I write this, it’s 1:16pm. I’m supposed to be in the home stretch of editing my forthcoming book EIGHT WEEKS TO A COMPLETE NOVEL, but I am not.You know what I’ve done today?

Here’s a partial list….

    • Took an extra 45 minutes and finished a book I’m reading for my book club three weeks from now.
    • Googled whether it’s possible to roast a whole chicken in the crockpot. It is.
    • Googled recipes for roasting a whole chicken in the crockpot. But Becky, you say, that’s not wasted time if you need to eat dinner tonight. Ah, but you don’t realize I’d already done this research several days ago. I knew it could be done, but continued reading recipes long after I’d already decided what I was going to do, poultry-wise.
    • Created an elaborate spice rub for said chicken.
    • Fought with said chicken to convince it to release the giblets.
    • After an embarrassingly long time, realized it was just the neck and it remained stubbornly attached, much like my own neck. I only hope nobody comes along with a pair of kitchen shears and whacks my neck from my body.
    • Washed my hands approximately 7,000 times.
    • Wrangled the chicken into the crockpot to rest on a bed of onions which I will turn into a rich, brown gravy when the chicken rests après roasting.
    • Washed my hands another 7,000 times.
    • Googled how to turn a bed of onions and pan drippings into a rich, brown gravy.
    • Within a three-minute period, stared at my manuscript, excited to see I was just a few pages from the end; realized I hadn’t actually written that section; checked to see what was going on in Facebookland.
    • Chatted with Becky’s Book Buddies about our most and least favorite Halloween candy.
    • Contemplated why there’s been no mention of candy corn over at Becky’s Book Buddies.
    • Bothered my kids via text, my siblings via email, and my financial planner by phone.
    • Swooned over an unexpected email from a participant in my EIGHT WEEKS TO A COMPLETE NOVEL workshop who said, and I quote, “Thank you so much for the workshop. You offered a ton of information, and because of your classy humor, it all made sense to me. You have inspired me to get serious about my writing, and I’m looking forward to reading your new book.”
    • Puzzled over the phrase “classy humor” and tried to suss out whatever sarcasm might be lurking there.
    • Ate twice. Once with gusto, once with ennui.
    • Plucked a long gray hair from my chin.
    • Marveled at its length while I searched for a ruler.
    • Investigated world records for chin hair.
    • Decided people need to know all of this.

So tell me, dear reader … what do you do on Snow Days? If you’ve never had one, what do you think you’d do?

 

2 thoughts on “Snow Day”

  1. Too funny…:-) Yes, our writing time has its own shape and schedule… :-)) Just read about you at Marie’s Cozy Experience last night and look forward a lot to reading the series–bit steep for my book allowance but I am hoping my library has it!

    1. Hi, Regina! Aren’t Marie’s parties fun? A real whirlwind of an hour. I’m so happy you found me. I’ll let you in on a little secret … I’m in the process of getting the rights back to my Mystery Writer’s Mysteries and will be re-releasing soon at lower prices. So join my mailing list or Becky’s Book Buddies over at Facebook so you’ll be sure to hear when those are ready. But in the meantime, ABSOLUTELY ask your library to carry books you want to read! They’re usually happy to comply.

      Happy reading!

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