Unhibernating

As it turns out, I do not want to live in a cave.

This past week has been rather horrid. As Snowpocolypse 2011 took over Dallas, boredom and misery took over many lives of those in the DFW area. You would think four snow days in row would make a teacher happy.

Negative.

I cringe at the thought of having to make those days up later when the weather is actually nice outside and the mindset of being in the final stretch to summer has set in. Plus, we are only allotted two bad weather days a year, so I don't even want to know what we are going to have to do about those other two days. Please don't tell me now. Break it to me after I gain a bit of my sanity back.

Being trapped inside of my apartment for so long was rough. Sure, I tried to venture out as much as I could, but let's face it—there's only so much you can do when the roads are iced over. People can barely drive when it's raining outside; don't even get me started on how they handle these "wintry mix" conditions.

For a brief stretch, it was as if most of society had stopped altogether: School? Canceled. Bible study? Canceled? Many local businesses? Closed. Speeds on the streets? Practically crawling. Even the grocery store shelves got wiped clean. I went to Kroger one night when I was out of milk, and there was one gallon left in the entire store. One. And it wasn't even the right kind (it was skim, and I drink 1 percent).

I think what was brought to my attention most, however, is how important it is for human beings to have relationships—especially friendships—with other human beings. Those connections we make with other people outside of ourselves are so vital to our well-beings. I honestly don't think we were placed on this earth to be hermits—God wants us to connect with others. After all, how else can you spread love if you're trapped in your little cave, isolated from the rest of society?

On Friday (even though I had completely lost track of the days at this point), I went over to my friend Jade's so that we could build a snowman. It's really weird that we both wanted to do this, because neither of us is a fan of the cold weather. But, for some reason, this sounded like a good idea.

Valdy is awesome.

We built our guy by a bench in a courtyard so that he could wait there for his true love. We named him Valdy and left a bottle of perfume with him—you know, so that he could allure that special lady to look his way. He really is just the most precious thing.

I know that Valdy will eventually melt, and technically he isn't actually "real," but I think we can all learn a valuable lesson from the little daredevil: sometimes you just have to stand out in the cold for things that matter.

Relationships and connections with others are so essential, and it was nice to be reminded of that this week. It's all about engagement—honestly, aren't things usually more enjoyable when others are with you? (Think falling on your backside on a patch of ice.)

It might be beneficial every once in a while to go stand by a bench in a courtyard. The good news is that, unlike Valdy, you won't melt.