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家庭

The Polar Vortex Actually Has Some Upsides

极涡

It's not often that Michigan shuts down due to freezing temperatures.We hearty Midwesternerspost memes在这个国家的其他地方被几英寸厚的雪吓坏了,或者是十几岁时的某个温度。Meanwhile,我们冒着暴风雪去上学和工作;that's just how we do it out here.

但偶尔,however,一whopper of a storm像这样PolarVortex将中西部地区带到了一个尖锐的停顿中(医疗领域和应急人员除外)。Nearly everything here began shutting down on Monday — schools,daycares,government,企业,当地餐馆,健身房,retailers… this storm is no joke and the life-threatening cold has already杀死11人.

My own city,Kalamazoo,Mich.击中一record low tempthis morningand our公用事业公司乞讨的顾客把恒温器调低到65度火灾破坏了供应。外面很残酷,由于预计周五之前不会再增加临时工,暂时暂时还没有缓解。

我们从星期天起就没离开过房子。整个星期,我丈夫和我在家工作,而我们的孩子(8岁和5岁)已经放学。Because of the extreme cold,他们不能像平常的雪天一样在外面跑来跑去——这里没有雪橇或雪天使。

前两天对他们来说很有趣:电影,阅读,Legos,可可,烘烤,工艺品。But now it's Day Four of this shut-in and they're getting cabin fever and,frankly,so are we.我女儿的拼写和数学测验已经学习了,她本周末的希伯来学校作业完成了,两张儿童情人节卡片都写出来了,他们的房间清洁和有组织的(相对)。Now what?

Needless to say,我们都准备好呼吸一些正常新鲜的空气了。Tomorrow's high will be a balmy 18 degrees,回到学校和办公室将是一种受欢迎的解脱。But even though there's been moments of boredom,我也很感激这种被迫的减速和与家人在家的时间(尽管我失败了)miserablyat fellow 苹果beplayKveller writer Sharon Forman'sNo Yelling Challenge— sorry,Sharon.Bad timing to try this one!)

从我的角度来看,这是极涡的伟大之处。

1.家庭时间奖励。

即使我和我丈夫在家工作,the kids have been physically around us all week,which has been challenging but also really nice.On a normal work day,we get an hour with them in the morning and maybe a couple hours at night — but this week,it's been 24/7 togetherness.And since their sports and activities have been canceled,too,所以我们在晚上有更多的时间在一起。谁会为此生气?!(OK,除非他们为了谁能成为糖果界的蓝兵或是谁打破了乐高哈利波特的结构而斗争…)

2。无健身常规.

我知道你在想什么:健身是这么好for you!你怎么能不能按照你的常规去做?好的thing?But hear me out.作为一个有过度运动不舒服经历的人,这次被迫休假实际上是件好事。这些天,I have a healthy relationship with fitness;马上,我正在训练15-mile race.但是温度太低了,我无法参加训练。Yes,我可以在室内跑步,或者去我最喜欢的拳击课,but I've been terrified of driving in the treacherous road conditions.相反,I've rested my body these past couple of days,and you know what?It hasn't been the end of the world!当我明天回到那里的时候,I imagine I'll feel strong and rested.

3.更多的睡眠。

我通常在4:30起床,在一周内进行5次跑步或拳击课。But knowing I didn't need to get anyone up and out the door has meant I'm more caught up on sleep than probably ever before — at least since becoming a parent!This morning I naturally woke at 4:30 and it felt heavenly to lay there a couple hours longer until the work day began.

4。没有花费。

I've spent ZERO dollars since getting snowed in.No impulse buys atTarget,no Diet Coke from the vending machine at work,no cafeteria breakfasts and lunches,没有网上购物,nada.我一直忙于工作和照顾我的孩子,直到一天结束的时候,我最不想做的就是再次打开笔记本电脑上网。即使我有今天到期的各种零售商的优惠券,我不会离开房子的!As a result,我的银行账户现在对我很满意。

5。我们有最后的食物。

We stocked up on fruit,veggies,还有暴风雨前的牛奶,所以这周我们一直在努力通过冰箱和冰箱。没必要去商店,and since we're already home and (relatively!) relaxed,没有借口让外卖。我甚至做了薄烤饼平日for my kids.有时候“被迫”完成你所拥有的并不是什么坏事。

总而言之,这个被迫关闭的地方soterrible.But I'd be lying if I said I wasn't really glad to get back into a routine… before it's disrupted for President's Day,of course.

The opinions expressed here are the personal views of the author.评论被缓和,所以用你内心的声音,keep your hands to yourself,and no,我们对草药补充剂不感兴趣。
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