Wait – what are you saying? You live in Wisconsin, right? And it’s warm out now?
Yes, I do live in Wisconsin where it was about 80 this weekend and awesome weather outside. But this is the perfect time to “wish you a snow-day point of view”.
If you’re like me, summertime starts when school gets out. Our kids just finished their last day of school this past week and summer is already in full swing. We have soccer games or practices most of the days or nights. We have graduation parties, cookouts and other activities going on. We try to fit in some camping trips. Our daughter’s music schedule picks up and we try to see as many of her shows as we can. Needless to say, we don’t have a lot of free days or nights in our schedule.
So what am I talking about then?
It’s a great time to slow down and remember those times when we have our most patience and understanding – especially when we are at our busiest. Here in Wisconsin, a snow day is one day almost everyone gets it immediately – because we must!
Imagine 6-12 inches of snow on the ground. Your co-worker shows up at the office 30 minutes late. You aren’t mad at them and ask why they were late. Absolutely not! You ask if they are ok and say that you are glad they made it in. If your neighbor is out of town, you snow blow their yard after you just spent an hour getting out of yours. If you go into a store, you can feel the more courteous manner in the mostly empty store. You can hear it in everyone’s voice. You can literally feel the difference being around others.
The special part of this point of view is that I believe it’s entirely genuine. If you live here, you know what it’s like to deal with a snow day. A good day in a situation like that is still difficult and if something goes wrong the challenge grows exponentially. We all feel it and treat each other with true empathy. Since I’ve noticed this happens, I look forward to observing it because it truly is heartwarming to see.
Our schedules are not going to change. We will all be busy and try to fit in everything that we can. But what if we could all keep that same empathy and patience in our lives like it’s that first big snowstorm of the year? What if our first thoughts are to make sure everyone is alright, appreciate their efforts and see if we can help out? What if we can treat others in this manner in at least one more situation today than we did yesterday? I would imagine that would make everyone’s day a little brighter and feel like the warmth of the summer sun we are having now while “using a snow-day point of view”. Give it a try today.
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