Monday, March 18, 2024

Slice of Life 2024: 18 of 31- A PSA for Wearing Sunscreen

It's March, and March is for slicing.  Anyone is welcome to join us through Two Writing Teachers, slicing, sharing, and commenting on other slices! 

  

  


Consider this a PSA for sunscreen, sunshirts, and annual checks! 

Dawn Sheriff had reminded me to enjoy my hair appointment, and I walked into the salon with her post in my head. Dawn pointed out the luxuriousness of sitting and having someone else dry and style your hair. She's not wrong, and last Thursday, my plan was to hit pause on my to-do list and relax in the styling chair. 

On the previous Friday, almost a week before my hair appointment, I had my annual skin check. An unpleasant but somewhat regular occurrence when you're a redhead with a history of many childhood sunburns is a quick freeze of a spot or even an occasional slice. Caitlin, the PA hadn't liked the look of a spot on my shoulder blade, so she biopsied it to be on the safe side. 

My best friend is the dermatologist, my daughter worked in the office for a couple of years, and I've had a couple other previous but harmless (relatively) spots, I know the drill. You get a call sooner than later if there's anything serious to worry or talk about. So, with almost a week between me and the biopsy, I was pretty sure I was in the clear. I was just waitng for a confirming call or an email with a message in my portal. 

Calynn was in the middle of painting my roots when my phone buzzed. It was Jen's office calling. 

"Let me take this," I said. "It's a dr's office and a quick one."

Jen's voice on the other end of the phone made my stomach flip. I know too much about protocols and when and why the providers call as opposed to the office staff. 

"I love you," I said, "but I don't think I'm happy that you're the voice on the other end of this call."

A couple of minutes later, I had a phone covered with hair goop, a diagnosis of stage 1 melanoma, an date for office surgery the following day, and a VERY failed resolve to relax and enjoy my hair appointment. 

These events happened a few days ago, so now I am sore, but healing. I had to wait to post about it because Garth and our youngest daughter were in Paris when all this happened-- no need to share the news across the pond. They were a little stunned to hear about my cancer adventure during the less-than-a-week that they were away. 

I've ordered a few fresh sun shirts-- Amazon has some great and inexpensive options. If you've been considering updating your summer attire with SPF clothing, do it sooner rather than later. Melanoma's no joke, and a little spot requires a not-so-little excision.  

Sunday, March 17, 2024

Slice of Life 2024: 17 of 31- Melon Memories

  It's March, and March is for slicing.  Anyone is welcome to join us through Two Writing Teachers, slicing, sharing, and commenting on other slices! 

  

  

Certain activities have a way of bringing me back to spaces and places. Cutting melons is one of those activities, and I had a couple to prepare this morning. 

Jobs were tricky to come by when I was in college, so when my roommate and I got hired by one of the campus dining halls, we accepted those positions! Every Sunday morning, regardless of how much we drank on Saturday nights (which was sometimes a lot) and regardless of how little we slept (which was sometimes not much), we were in the kitchen of the West Side Dining Hall by 7:30 am, and our special weekly task... the Sunday brunch fruit salad. 

Armed with white-handled, extra sharp kitchen knives, we became experts on navigating the various bugs that traveled in melon boxes, determining cantaloupe and honeydew ripeness levels, mastering the most efficient ways to slice and dice all types of fruit, and many more fruit-related trivia. We also looked really great with our hairnets and dining hall whites. If any of our friends teased us about the hairnets or paper hats, we pointed out the possible consequences of not wearing them. 

The Sunday morning fruit salad was legendary, and we cashed in on many instant friendships when we told people we were the force behind those semi-healthy concoctions. (We probably didn't know at the time how much sugar went into those big jars of pre-peeled oranges and grapefruits.)

To this day, cut and cutting cantaloupe connect me to my collegiate Sunday mornings. 




Saturday, March 16, 2024

Slice of Life 2024: 16 of 31- Dogs and Days

 It's March, and March is for slicing.  Anyone is welcome to join us through Two Writing Teachers, slicing, sharing, and commenting on other slices! 

  

  

My dogs know the days of the week. Or at least they know them during the school year when there are no days off or vacations happening, but sometimes I get confused about days of the week during those times, as well. 

It's been a long week for them. Spoiled pooches they are, Garth works from home, and he's been away this week. Each morning, there has been sad disapproval from both of them as I pack my bags and give them extra cookies. 

Really, I say, It's not that long until 3:30. I promise I'll take you for a walk then. 

Really, I imagine them saying back. How could you leave us again?

Okie is more independent, but Winnie is a product of 2020, and basks in a voice to listen to, a foot to lie on, a hip to press against. 

All week, they've studied my morning routines. 

Is she taking a shower after she feeds us? 

Drat. 

This morning, I don't know who's happier with the morning routine: me or Winnie. She's chased the squirrels from the yard, completed her morning business, and eaten breakfast. 

When we came back upstairs, I didn't have to wonder about what was happening next. I knew I would be getting back into bed--writing a slice, reading a bunch, and then enjoying a few chapters of Tom Lake. Winnie couldn't be much closer, her bottom pressed against my legs, and Okie's back in his bed, as well. 

We all know it's Saturday. 









Friday, March 15, 2024

Slice of Life 2024: 15 of 31- A Student Decided to Hold It

   It's March, and March is for slicing.  Anyone is welcome to join us through Two Writing Teachers, slicing, sharing, and commenting on other slices! 

  

  

It had been a long morning of meeting with other literacy specialists and trying to figure out next steps in terms of programming.

What are our core beliefs? 

What do we want to make sure remains intact? 

How will we roll out whatever program we decide to adopt, and--oh yes-- how will we pay for it?

All of these questions and more were asked and not or only partially answered as we created slide decks and analyzed programs. 

As my attention waxed and waned, F. walked through the conference room on his way to get his lunch. With all of the consolidation of spaces over the years, our conference room doubles as the refrigerator space for teachers, and people often have to walk through meetings to get their lunch. 

F. is one of those teachers who is always ready to try new ideas. When I returned from a conference, he wanted to know what I'd learned and what new tricks he could try in his classrooms. I told him about one-minute writes, and he has been using them over the last few weeks. Even his students will find me in the hall and want to share a short writing piece since he always gives me way too much credit. 

 As I was at the end of the table, it was easy for him to share a story with me. 

"K. was in the process of signing out to use the bathroom when I announced a one-minute write," F. shared, "and he turned right around."

"'I'm not missing that,' K. said." F. was chuckling as he told me the story. 

During a time when I wonder about my impact, this story made my day. 

Thursday, March 14, 2024

Slice of Life 2024: 14 of 31- I've been outed by one of my favorite slicers!

  It's March, and March is for slicing.  Anyone is welcome to join us through Two Writing Teachers, slicing, sharing, and commenting on other slices! 

  

  

One of my greatest joys about the annual SOLSC is that my daughters do it with me. Larkin has been a part of the community for almost as long as I have. Since she is 27, that's more than half her life. Clare joined us last year, and jumped right back on the slicing bandwagon for a second year in 2024. Every day, I look forward to a notification or a text that they've posted a slice for the day. Even though I talk to both of them a lot, and there's a family chat as well as individual texting, reading about their lives through a slice gives a different view into their worlds. 

Except that today, Clare outed me. 



The background you might need to know is that we do name picking for holiday gifts, and Clare was my gift-giver. I thought I communicated that I wanted a water bottle, but she's always right about that sort of thing, so I didn't. And yes, my water bottle was delivered the first week of January. In my post, I wrote that my water bottle was not even a month old. So, yes, some things didn't line up. 

You see, I have a stash of slices that I've written during February that I allow myself once or twice over the course of the month. Does anyone else do this? That way, if there's just too much on my plate, I have a way to deal with it. Is this cheating? Maybe... but I had to revise it, and I had to post it, and I did plenty of commenting...

I know, I know... the point is to find the moments during these March days to zero in on and amplify with some writing. Every year, I learn so much about myself as a writer, and this outing from my daughter will wind its way into my end-of-the-month reflections. Authenticity matters. No more digging into my stash. Thanks, Clare! 



Wednesday, March 13, 2024

Slice of Life 2024: 13 of 31- The Challenges of a Water Bottle

 It's March, and March is for slicing.  Anyone is welcome to join us through Two Writing Teachers, slicing, sharing, and commenting on other slices! 

  

  

I am on a constant quest to drink more water. Therefore, when I didn’t get the asked-for water bottle for a holiday present, I bought my own. Now, I even have some financial skin in the game to hydrate. 


In keeping with this goal, I brought my water bottle to my meeting– I know I did. And I brought it back to my office after my meeting– I know I did. But, did I bring it home? I couldn’t find it the next morning. Not in the house. Not in the car. Maybe I left it on my desk.


Back at the office, I looked for the not-even-a-month-old water bottle, but I didn’t see it. I retraced my steps to the conference room and where I’d sat. Not there. When I returned to my desk, I temporarily gave up since I had a full batch of emails to address, but not before chastising myself (out loud) and my struggles with water bottle management. 


“Is that it?” my office mate asked, pointing to the navy water bottle on the table next to the paper cutter. 


“Yes!”


As I write, my water bottle is a little less new and almost empty… we’ll see how much longer I can keep it as a part of my life!


Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Slice of Life 2024: 12 of 31- The Trouble With Televisions

 It's March, and March is for slicing.  Anyone is welcome to join us through Two Writing Teachers, slicing, sharing, and commenting on other slices! 

  

  

It's spring break for many college students, and my husband agreed on a father-daughter getaway for the week with Daughter#4, the only one left in college, leaving me home alone. There are many aspects of home alone I will enjoy. However, my entire family would have predicted and laughed at my struggles with the remote and the television. 

All day, I looked forward to watching the UConn women's basketball team take on Georgetown. When I got home at 7:10, I had some self-talking to do, encouraging myself to follow the steps and directions left for me. 

Home screen.

Live TV.  (Or was it the app I was supposed to use?)

Live TV. Sports. Fox Sports. 

What? There were a lot of Fox Sports. And none of them were showing the game. 

The Huskies App. Maybe. Nope. Didn't work. 

A different provider? Not part of our subscription. Contact provider. 

Back to the home screen. 

Repeat these steps. Several times. Add in a few expletives. 

 At least I could see the live stats of the basketball game, and I knew it wasn't a great game. UConn was winning by a lot. Then, I got a text from someone I've been working with. Did I have a minute to talk? 

Yes. Yes, I do. I'd VERY much prefer a conversation about a topic I'm relatively smart about instead of continuing to wage a battle with the dumb television. 

By the time I got off the phone, the game was almost over, and The Bachelor was underway. How do you think I did with getting ABC livestreamed on the television? Nope. Not happening. But I can watch it just fine on my computer and even write a slice at the same time. 


And look: I know exactly how the basketball game went. Who needs the television? 


Update: Daughter #2 just called and is giggling at my TV incompetence.