The Unexpected Benefits of Spontaneity

I am not, by any definition of the word, spontaneous. 

I find routines comforting, soothing, and downright enjoyable. I go to bed around the same time every night (and always read before I do), get up around the same time every day (and always feed Oscar first thing), and eat pretty much the same thing for lunch every day. Even on weekends. Speaking of weekends, my Saturday mornings consist of a trip to the gym, the waiting room at dance class, and a trip to the grocery store with Annabelle. Every. Saturday. 

Surprises? Shake-ups? Spontaneity? No, thanks. I'm good. (Let me take this moment to say, "Hands off, ladies. I'm taken.")

As boring as this may sound -- and I admit, after reading that paragraph above, I'm even a little bored -- my reliable ways make me a pretty good Dad to Annabelle, Aurora, and Oscar. (Yes, Oscar, too, because if dogs don't like routines, who does?) Kids like to watch the same things over and over, eat the same things over and and over, and read the same things over and over. They do better when they have set bedtimes, set activities, and set routines. 

Which brings me to the photo at the top of the post. It screams spontaneity and it makes me smile from ear to ear. 

Last Sunday, we got a bunch of snow. Maybe you remember. It was thick, wet, heavy snow and it fell for much of the day and into the night. We weren't sure what Monday was going to bring in terms of school, work, or commutes, so we mostly just sat, watched, and visited weather websites. 

Earlier in the week, the big snowstorm before the one we were watching, Annabelle had asked if we could make a snowman. Unfortunately that snow was light and powdery -- not good for making balls of snow. 

But Sunday, the snow was perfect. As we sat and ate dinner, Annabelle sensed it. "It's the perfect snowman making snow!" 

"Actually, it is. Maybe we can make a snowman tomorrow morning," I said, thinking we would have a delay.

"But it's perfect right now," she said.

She was right. But we were in the middle of dinner. We still had to do tubs. She hadn't napped. And then the routine of potty, teeth, and books, of course. Plus, her snow clothes were still wet from playing outside earlier in the day.

All signs pointed to no. But we went out in the cold, snowy night and it was amazing.

As you can guess from the photo, Annabelle was smiling and laughing from start to finish. She helped me roll the base, a generous middle, and the all-important top. We trudged through the backyard snow -- "hold my hand, Dad!" -- to look for the perfect sticks for the arms. We went inside to get the traditional carrot nose and settled on rocks (instead of blueberries) for the eyes. We finished things off with a blue scarf, thanks to Bridget's eye for fashion. And we took pictures of our new snowman, Oscar, gathering memories that we'll enjoy forever.

Does this mean I'm doing away with my routines? Maybe a new lunch this week? Doubt it. But I am going to try to be more spontaneous -- right now.