Welcome to 2018 and my first blog post of the new year. And guess what, today we have a Snow Day!
I’ve always loved snow days. And, I love them for the same reason I love being a mom who runs her business from home. Snow Days are fun. Snow Days are different. And, when they’re unexpected they’re even better. Who doesn’t love a little bit of unexpected fun now and then?
You see, I thought my Monday would be different. I thought it would be my first full Monday after Christmas break that I’d have available to “work.” I was planning to get “so much done.” Today was going to be “all about me and my to-do list.” Because, on Mondays, I focus on Marketing. I was going to write my weekly emails, write a blog post, meet virtually with my VA, and set up email sequences for my upcoming webinar. This was going to be my day.
Then, Wham-O. An ice storm, followed by snow. School was first delayed 90 minutes, then they canceled. So, I did what every mom of school-aged kids does when there’s a snow day, and everyone is still asleep. I made another cup of coffee, watched Oprah’s video from the Golden Globes, listened to a podcast, put a load of laundry in the dryer, washed my face, put on my favorite jeans, cozy sweater and boots, lit a candle in my office, and basked in not having to leave the house just yet. I am also secretly hoping that when my son wakes up, we can make chocolate-chip pancakes and enjoy some breakfast together.
Yes, we have a snow day on our hands, and yes, my idea of how my day was planned suddenly changed. But you know what? My thoughts about the circumstance that I couldn’t change changed too. As you see, changing my thoughts in response to a circumstance I can’t change is my secret to a life as a mom who runs her business, and writes her cookbooks, from home. A life filled with snow days, sick kids, day-care closed, and anything else life throws at a mom who runs her business from home. In short, it’s called “going with the flow”.
Rather than resisting and raising my blood pressure, raging on social media, or texting my sister or friend to complain, I did one simple thing. I changed my thoughts. Rather than think thoughts that my list of to-dos wouldn’t get done in the way I envisioned, I shifted to, well if we’re all at home I might as well make the best of it. Suddenly I felt cozy, appreciative and ready for some fun with a boy who could eat three-times as many pancakes as I could.
My change in thought and my feelings then changed my actions. And as a result, my day is already going great. And this will spill over to my son because whether you want to believe this or not, a mom set the emotional tone in the house with the kids. How we show up is how we perceive others. If I’m stomping around grumpy because I’m supposed to be writing an email and not fixing breakfast at 10:00 am, then I’ll perceive the kids as grumpy and demanding of me. (Try it sometime.)
Today, I challenge you to decide to be a person who is not at the effect of your circumstances. You may not have a snow day, but I suspect there could be other circumstances that you face that perhaps weren’t in the plans today. Remember, your circumstances don’t drive your actions, your thoughts about the circumstances do. And, evolved adults are more deliberate than that. If there’s one thing I’ve learned as a mom who runs her business from home, is that as an adult I get to choose and it’s way more fun to choose better thoughts than negative ones. And for me today, that means fun, different, and chocolate chip pancakes.
Culinary Dietitian, Cookbook Author, and Cookbook Author Maggie Green, RDN, LD, owns The Green Apron Company. The Green Apron specializes in recipe and cookbook development and offers private and group cookbook coaching programs for aspiring cookbook authors.