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Friday, March 1, 2019

SLICE #1

Friday night.
The end of a long week.
Bible study on Monday night.
Spanish class on Tuesday.
Parent/teacher conferences until 8:30 on Wednesday.
A district class until 7:00 on Thursday.

Typically, by this time on Friday nights, I'm falling asleep on the couch.
But not tonight.

Tonight it's March 1st, and I'm slicing.

I've sliced every March since 2011.

2011 was a long time ago. In 2011, both of my sons were still living at home. I was the administrative assistant (kind of like an assistant principal) at a small school just a few minutes away from my house. I was juggling work and my boys' never-ending football, basketball, and track schedules. We had two dogs, wild and crazy black lab mixes- Star and Jack, who regularly appeared in my posts because they regularly escaped from the yard and went on wild rampages throughout the neighborhood.

And now it's 2019. I have sliced for nine years. My boys have graduated from high school and been to junior colleges in Arizona and have come back home. One son made me a grandmother. Crazy Jack died. My mom has had brain surgery and moved into a senior living complex. I took her dog, Boo, then Boo died. I taught fourth grade at a school that closed. I have been a literacy coach and a reading interventionist at a dual language school since August 2012. We've have been through three principals and we are currently in the process of hiring a fourth. 

And much of my life is recorded in slices.

Tonight, I went back and read those slices. Laughed. Cried. Remembered.

I was halfway thinking about not slicing. I'm way too busy right now and can't imagine writing for 31 days straight.

But then I read my slices from the past, and I can't imagine not writing. Not capturing those stories

So here we go again…

8 comments:

Michelle said...

Bravo!! Here’s to sharing so many stories that .. make me laugh. Cry. And remember. Happy writing!

Unknown said...

Carol,
As a fan of your writing since your columns in The Denver Post, I am so glad you ARE slicing! I always look forward to reading your beautiful writing.

Ramona said...

So much change in your life. And yet your stories are there, filled with the everyday wonders. So glad you showed up to capture your stories again.

Elisabeth Ellington said...

I love your structure here of comparing your life then with your life now. And I am so, SO glad you are slicing, because I look forward to your writing every day in March!

Deb Day said...

I went back and read my slices too, Carol. I think it's what inspired me to do this one more time! And I think I need to write a slice about what has changed in my life since 2011!

Chris said...

So many stories. Some easy to write, some hard. I'm so glad to have found this community. Happy slicing!

Heidi Mordhorst said...

Go Carol go! Just from the tiny little slices I've read in the past, you have one of the most interesting lives around--not famous, not celebrated, but INTERESTING, challenging, real. Thank you for documenting, thank you for sharing. Hope all the boys, moms and dogs are doing well, and I hope you'll join me on March 15, both at mjlu with a climate poem or post and maybe at the Colorado State Capital!

Laura said...

This is my first year slicing and I can't imagine how many memories you've saved by slicing for so long! Glad to see that it's worth the effort and you keep coming back to it! Let's see if I have the energy to slice every day this month - it's a great goal to work towards!