On one of our first trips into the city after moving to the Washington DC area, I remember noting how many buildings house government offices. Wow, that building is huge, I thought, and it said United State Department of Something on the outside. If this is just one building, the US Government sure does employ a lot of people!
Just a couple of weeks ago, I stopped by the grocery store after work and then eventually arrived at home. While parking my car, I noticed that of my husband and me and two neighbors, I was the only one there. Either everyone else was still at work, school, or they had gone somewhere after work. It was well after 8 p.m. and nobody's day had slowed down yet.
That is a glimpse of the Washington DC life: many people work long hours and many have long commutes to and from work. It's not unusual for someone to travel an hour each way to and from work, either by car, bus, metro, on foot, or a combination of any of those.
It makes me miss the quieter life. When my husband and I travel to see his family, we leave DC on a crowded interstate, sometimes inching along in traffic. After a while, we turn from the interstate and onto a four-lane highway that meanders through small towns and farmlands.
I'm not the only DC-area resident who has commented about how we feel the stress physically leave our bodies as we leave the stressed-out hubbub of DC for the calmer life in the small towns or countryside. (We forget that a lot of America is small town life.) I loved staying at my friend's house in Tiny Piney, Tennessee, this past summer. From any window of her house I could see rolling green hills - something I don't see often in the crowded DC metro.
The DC population seems to be made up of people living here because of politics, government jobs, or a military assignment. Many others live here because they want to change the world - they're working for a non-profit headquartered in DC or a ministry, for example. It's a highly driven population!
Although I'm happy to have a day job as a nanny where I can wear jeans and not deal with the corporate world, I am also one of those go-getters who likes it here. I work long hours as a nanny then spend a significant amount of my "free" time writing and publishing my work. I need an extra day of rest as much as anyone!
This Washington DC area is jam-packed with a type-A, go-go-go, very busy population. If my schedule reflects what is normal in the DC area, no wonder we're desperate for a break. (Commute + work for way more than 8 hours a day Monday-Friday, then allow some time for rest and social life and church on the weekends = barely any time to live in your home, much less take care of it!)
Then it snows.
And life slows down.
We appreciate the occasional snowstorm, because that means that most of busy schedules and long work hours come to a halt. We love watching the notifications start flying around the internet: This school district is closed. That military base is closed. And the best? When most Washington DC government offices are closed! (Aka, the Federal Government is CLOSED that day!)
One of the kids I nanny described it to me like this: "When it snows, they CLOSE Washington DC. There is a big gate at the front of the city that they close and lock!"
I laughed because there is no such gate, but her words describe what happens figuratively.
Snow days force rest on people who aren't good at resting.
Today was the first (and likely the only) snow day of this winter, at least a partial day off work for many people. These snow days slow us down, trap us in our homes (like that two-foot snowstorm a year ago). On snow days I write, or sew, or even pull out a paintbrush. I talk to my husband, I cook comfort food, I read books, I catch up on sleep, and tidy up.
And I am happy.
What about you? Do you live in the DC area? Do you feel the same way about snow days? Or do you live in a snowy area or a climate with no snow at all? Leave a comment to let me know what you think!
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| Photo Credit: Karen Saunders Photography |
I’m Betsy Herman, and I live in the Washington, D.C. area with my husband, Mike. We have been married
since 2008. We enjoy exploring new cities together on foot, eating at our favorite Italian restaurants, and doing life as a team.
I published my first book Embracing Hope During Infertility in January 2015, and my second Seasons: A Picture Book was published in November 2016. Although this book is intended for children, if you’re still in a barren season like I am, I think that Seasons will encourage you with a glimpse of God’s goodness.
I would love for you to connect with me by following my Hope During Infertility Facebook page and my Betsy Herman, Writer Facebook page. I occasionally tweet as well.
Thanks so much for reading my posts!
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