Is It Me or Them?

I am starting to think that I am in the minority when it comes to being snowed in. I continue to be amazed at the number of people I am encountering who, upon being asked what they are doing out in this mess, say "I had to get out of the house! I'm going crazy cooped up with the family.".

I have enjoyed every minute of the time I have been "cooped up" with my family. Am I the only one out there that has a family they don't mind being with 24/7? Is it me?

Or, is it them? Have they loaded their lives up with so much activity and so many obligations that they have forgotten how to just sit and be with the people they love? Is their home not a haven? My home is my favorite place to be.

There are countless things to do while home: reading, tv and movie watching, napping, cooking, baking, cleaning (yuck), game playing, talking.......you just won't run out of things to do. So, from where exactly does this boredom and cabin fever come?

I see these times as a chance to reconnect, to just be a family not going in fifty million directions. We stay too busy, do too much and spread ourselves too thin. It's a gift, in my opinion, to have no other choice but to be together. Sometimes we need a "time out".

As far as boredom, my mom used to say that a person isn't bored, they're boring. I think she was on to something. Speaking of my mom reminds me of something else I have realized. To all the kids and young people out there who think one more day with their family is just too excruciating to comprehend: one day they will be gone and, trust me, you will not regret spending TOO much time with them. You will only wish you had spent more.

So, please, enjoy this time. Don't wish it away. Don't whine and complain. Thank God for the gift of family.