Slice of Life: Day 31--"Year 7: Check!"

This month I am participating in the Slice of Life challenge sponsored by the Two Writing Teachers website and blog. Join me!

I've spent some time thinking back to the last 6 years of slicing...and I can honestly say this is the most unique year I've ever experienced. It almost doesn't feel real, this last day of slicing, because March 31st doesn't feel real. So many days, strung together in an endless blur, punctuated by the sunrise and sunset, but not much else that was defining.

I think every year has a "theme" for me...some years it's been about slicing with students, one year I was in the middle of moving, and this year...I just can't put my finger on it!

Weird?

Does weird describe what you've felt, too?

Weird, works for me, I think, because it describes both the emotions and events. And both have been, well, weird. And unpredictable. And sad. And scary.

I've felt so many feelings these last 4 weeks. When I look back over my slices, March started light, moved to fearful, then faux-positive as I tried to distract myself, and just went up and down from there.

And the events...ugh, the events that have literally left us with our mouths open in a gasp are horrifying. Events that will haunt us. Events we will strive to collectively recover from for years...a defining before and after moment in most of our lives. And our children's lives.

It's this "living in the house while building it" unsettled feeling that leaves me slicing nonsense here on the last day. My thoughts are everywhere, and I literally can't put a reflection on this year together.

So, I'm going end it here. It was fun. It was emotional. It was Slice of Life, year 7.

But, man, has it been weird.

Slice of Life: Day 30--"This day got me like..."

This month I am participating in the Slice of Life challenge sponsored by the Two Writing Teachers website and blog. Join me!

This day got me like a...

Stressed

Afraid

Sick-to-my-stomach

Bleary-eyed

Exhausted

Brave-faced

Still-smilin'

Faking-it-til-I-make-it

Crazy Lady.

Tomorrow will be better, right?

Right.

Slice of Life: Day 28--"Tornado Fear"

This month I am participating in the Slice of Life challenge sponsored by the Two Writing Teachers website and blog. Join me!

I just saw the news from Jonesboro, Arkansas.

Tornado. Debris. Injuries.

Prayers.

As I watched footage tonight, that familiar springtime pit in my stomach started to grow. I love spring and a good rainstorm, but tornados....it's a different story.

My family lost their home in the Joplin, MO, 2011 tornado. Although I lived 8 hours away at the time and my family was fine, I wasn't. I'm not. I watched the news as I learned that my elementary school, high school, and everything within a mile radius of parents' home for 31 years was GONE. Literally gone.

I went home for Memorial Day weekend and walked streets that I couldn't recognize. I went to my neighborhood where I'd ridden bikes around the block as a child and could not find my way to my house. It was unreal.

So, tonight, my slice is a slice of my past that mixes in with my present on nights like this. As I strive to control my reactions to severe weather, I find that my eyes fill quickly with tears. I try to hide these emotions in public, but the truth is that I am petrified of it happening to anyone.

It's not the stuff you lose. It's the fight back.

I know what it feels like. I know the journey. I know what you battle with insurance companies. I know what it feels like to gather precious items scattered, knowing most of it's gone forever. I know what it looks like to see your parents' eyes become hollow and tired.

I know what those people in Jonesboro will face...added to a pandemic...and I'm just so sorry.

Spring is a little scary sometimes.

Slice of Life: Day 27--"Today in a Haiku"

This month I am participating in the Slice of Life challenge sponsored by the Two Writing Teachers website and blog. Join me!

Lounging in a chair
Letting my brain rest---no screens!
Quarantine is tough

Slice of Life: Day 26--"One Little Word: Quarantine Edition"

This month I am participating in the Slice of Life challenge sponsored by the Two Writing Teachers website and blog. Join me!

So....I always do my one little word at the beginning of the year, but quite frankly, it's just not working for me right now.

Unprecedented times call for...unprecedented one little word changes in the middle of March??!

So, my new word for now, until life returns to normal, until we get out of quarantine is...

INTENTIONAL.

This may seem really silly and overused, but honestly, I'm not that intentional in my normal life---or so I've discovered. Things that I've built in as habits fill my days. I've built my life intentionally, but this time of mix-up calls for serious INTENTION. Even things like when I wake up and go to bed are not intentional in my real life, because it just happens. It's required. It's my norm.

So, outside this norm, I've found some different ways to be intentional and prioritized day-by-day, not by the year, like I might do under normal circumstances. I'm on Spring Break right now, so this does not include work!

Here are my intentional ideas right now (subject to change as things change...):
wake-up at a consistent time
walk the dog
touch base with all family members via phone once a day
eat 3 meals
spend time offline or unplugged each day
be creative -- crafts, planning, etc.
do something productive -- chores, etc.
talk to a friend or connect with others
read
pray
spend time outside

So far so good.

Still breathing. ;)

Slice of Life: Day 25--"The Annual 'I Am' Poem"

This month I am participating in the Slice of Life challenge sponsored by the Two Writing Teachers website and blog. Join me!

**I used to do this every year with my 6th graders. Their honesty and vulnerability at that age always touched me. This will be my eighth "I Am" poem and every year it is different.**

I am a dreamer and a realist.
I wonder why this pandemic is happening. I'm filled with questions.
I see the sun shine, warming my skin and my soul.
I hear the chirping of birds, returning to town, and want to hug them.
I want to pay off all my debt and be done with it. It wearies me.
I am a dreamer and a realist.

I pretend that I don't have a comment about everything, when in fact, my opinions are many.
I feel tired sometimes of keeping the facade up. Where is the safe space to be real?
I touch the cool, damp earth as I prepare my garden for seeds.
I feel so thankful to have a few days this spring to soak up the sun and the warmth and savor the weather as it turns.
I cry when I pray.
I am a dreamer and a realist.

I understand that this pandemic is going to pass, but I wonder when.
I say (still) that the best days are yet to come.
I dream of too many things to list...they are like prayers written on my heart that I breathe out with every breath.
I try to do my part, to make a difference, to change the world.
I hope my trying works a little.
I am a dreamer and a realist.

Slice of Life: Day 24--"An Acrostic: Stuck"

This month I am participating in the Slice of Life challenge sponsored by the Two Writing Teachers website and blog. Join me!

Stuck inside school working or house choring
Today seemed like it flew by, nonetheless
Ultimately a day not wasted, but that felt like something was missing...
Connections! Oh, friends, family, and students, how I miss you.
Keeping time until we are together again....and unSTUCK!