An Oasis in Time

Due to the ice storm here in the northeast, I'm taking a Snow Day.

School was canceled for my kid, and I decided it was the better part of valor not to risk life and limb (not to mention fenders and side panels) trying to get in to the office just to be there to receive a return call from a medical director who received word that I was now an (illegal) boutique practice ("charging a sliding scale from $20 to $100"), a ridiculous misinterpretation of the letter I sent out regarding my new Administrative Fee. But that headache will still be there tomorrow.

So here I sit: laptop charged up (because the kid has commandeered the main computer) with the manuscript of my latest work in progress open; hours of long-canceled, beloved series showing on cable (JAG; Judging Amy; all the Star Treks -- original, DS9, TNG and Voyager); heater at my feet and surrounded by cats and dog on the comfy couch; and a book (The Kite Runner) to savor during commercials (when I'm not writing.) Thanks to the marvels of technology, I remotely forwarded the office phone to my home. Other than having answered calls from my spouse twice with the "office" greeting, it's fine. The phone has rung less than a dozen times, and virtually all calls were to cancel appointments today.

It's a lovely thing, this oasis in time. Due to circumstances entirely beyond my control, I have been granted a day off.

My son took the opportunity to talk with me. Really talk. "Important conversations" (his words.) About his summer job: he's been invited to apply as a camp counselor for four weeks. Should he do it, or should he get a job around home and hang with his friends for his last summer before college? What did I think? What did *I* think? It's entirely up to him. But he really wanted my opinion. So I gave it to him, and was rewarded with the comment, "That's probably one of the more useful conversations we've ever had."

This has been an intense year for him. Once in a while, he's asked me for a "mental health" day off of school. He works hard, is very conscientious, and has superb grades, so I have no problem with it.

But today is a mental health day for me. It feels good.