Did you incur any weather that impacted your holiday plans?

We were looking forward to getting out of town for a few days over Winter Break, but were snowbound for a week. It forced us to just “be.” It was a bit of an adjustment, we had been so looking forward to our trip, but Mother Nature had other ideas. We had no option but to make the best of it.

While most of our family were fairly unproductive (meaning we sat around trying to stay warm and watched lots of TV) , my oldest decided to get together with a friend and workout — how did they work out? By shoveling sidewalks for other people without being asked. My son’s friend had the idea, but my son was in. He was so inspired that when he got home that first day he shoveled the sidewalk around our block (which is an oversized block covering three streets). I was impressed by his desire to do this. I asked him if any neighbors noticed his work and thanked him (we live where snow doesn’t happen often and folks aren’t accustomed to needing to clear their sidewalk). “Not really,” he said, but it didn’t seem to bother him. He repeated meeting up with his friend throughout the week, they changed it up (where they shoveled and would include have fun at several snow covered parks (they wouldn’t shovel the parks, but toss the football, etc.).

The time off truly allowed us to disconnect and enjoy the moment. We didn’t have to worry about being anywhere, getting anything done by a certain time, or braving the elements. It was a much needed respite from the flurry of activities leading up to the week prior.

How did you spend your holidays? How did you and your family make the most of unexpected situations?