Over the weekend, Winter Storm Jonas (also known as “the Blizzard of 2016”) completely shut down much of the East Coast, including my suburban town outside of Philadelphia.

Even though the weather forecasters started talking about the possibility of Jonas a week prior, I put the thought of a storm out of my mind.

After all, I had a very busy weekend ahead of me, with plans that had been on the calendar for weeks. My schedule was packed with a mandatory retreat for the Temple Women’s Network board of directors, a teacher training reunion dinner, a yoga workshop and teaching two yoga classes.

The storm wasn’t about to ruin my exciting weekend.

But as the week went on and the forecast grew more and more serious, I finally began to accept the fact that my perfectly laid plans might go awry.

Oh, and they did.

The retreat? Swiftly canceled, well ahead of the storm. My Saturday morning yoga class? Also canceled. Our teacher training dinner? Rescheduled.

All of a sudden, I was left with a completely plan-free weekend. And it was the most glorious thing that ever could have happened.

48 hours ahead of me with absolutely nowhere to be.

I’d pretty much *never* allow that sort of free time or schedule that type of downtime for myself.

So, I took full advantage. I watched 15 (yep, 15! I think that’s what they call true bingewatching, folks) episodes of Jane The Virgin (if you haven’t watched this show, add it to your Netflix queue immediately). I took several naps (SO much sleep), spending much of Saturday in bed. I ate lots of snacks and drank lots of wine. I played Scattergories with my family. I caught up on reading blogs.

I quickly realized that this storm was perhaps the biggest blessing in disguise. Since sharing the news that I’m taking my blog, business and brand full time, life has been a whirlwind- an amazing whirlwind- but a whirlwind, nonetheless.

The timing couldn’t have been more perfect. I’m approaching my last week of the full-time job that I’ve held for four years. I’m on the cusp of starting something scary and new.

The storm forced me to take a couple of days to breathe. To rest my body and my mind. To do things that fill me up with joy, without worrying about “wasting time.”

This storm was a reminder to SLOW. DOWN.

Forced hibernation. It’s good for the soul, people.

Thank you, Winter Storm Jonas. Your timing was impeccable.

Were you snowed in this weekend? How did you spend the storm? If you weren’t snowed in, how would you enjoy a snowy weekend?

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