Snow Day - Grow Day?

Have you ever gotten a gift that you didn't know exactly what to do with? You know it could be useful if you could just figure it out.
That's just what I felt when I awoke to a snow filled world on Monday.
The world had stopped...
Of course I had heard it was coming but the reality that the world had "stopped" was different.
Suddenly I had a whole day or more open with all my plans put on hold. No places to go and nothing to do. It really felt strange but somehow exciting. What could I do with this gift of time?
I thought about all the many times I had complained about having too much to do and all the times I had wished I could go back to bed. How often had I said that I didn't have time to do something? I have often felt like I didn't have enough time.
Yet when "free time "was given to me, I was a little lost. But on vacation. I could easily do little all day and feel great about it. Why was this different? I know I could fill it up with household chores but that didn't seem right. It felt like a time to do something different that would mark this special; not just marking time until I could get back to life as usual.
This was a gift that I wasn't sure how to unwrap.
And then I remembered a friend who was a high level manger who regularly scheduled a "Pajama Day".
She didn't get out of her jammies all day and did only things that were relaxing- no guilt & no chores. She said those days made it possible to continue with her otherwise hectic life.
So what would it be like to have a "mini-vacation'? How about a nap at 11:00 or lunch of cookies at 3:00? What if I only did things that felt good even if I was "wasting time "?
What a radical idea!
So a little awkwardly, I proceeded. Some of the "shoulds" lingered but they left when I got excited about doing something different even if was to just prove I could. It was amazing how easily my day flowed as I just asked myself. "What so you feel like doing now?" Some of the answers were surprising like when I decided to watch some daytime TV...but all opened up some pocket of permission At the end of the day, I felt really good...renewed and relaxed and ready to make this a habit.