And what I mean by snow day is, “Can’t get out of the driveway” snow day. I mean “There’s not much point snow blowing because it’s still snowing” day.  I mean “looking out the window and seeing nothing but white” day.

Yes, it’s that kind of day. I wrote another story – meaning I finished the one I started two days ago. It’s a longer one – I think I’m fairly pleased with it.

I went out after lunch and shovelled – the usual, path for the dogs, steps leading up the shed. Yeah – about an hour of shovelling. I did laundry and baked bread. Gad – what an exciting life I lead.

So there I was, shovelling heavy snow and pausing to give my back a break, thinking about my life.

Here’s the deal: I chose this life – every single aspect of it. Maybe I didn’t get to choose who I was born to (although who knows how that works?) and maybe I didn’t get to choose stuff that happened when I was a kid. But as an adult – and I think adulthood begins the minute you begin making independent decisions – I get to choose my life. Maybe things happen that I have no control over – but I get to choose how I respond to every single thing.

There is no one to blame. I am not a victim. I am 100 percent in charge. Heck, even pretending to be a victim is a choice. Sure, I can be “victimized” – but how do I choose to respond to that? That’s my choice. That’s my responsibility. I have the ability to respond any way I wish.

So there I was, thinking about the choices I have made – all of this, of course, started with the thought of how I have chosen to live in a snow-filled land in the middle of nowhere – and I thought, well, there I am. I made this choice. And now I am choosing to change that. And every day, I make new choices.

I am only ever one choice, one millisecond. away from a different life.

Such power.