Slice of Life: A Seal's seaside stroll

 On Tuesdays, Two Writing Teachers hosts the Slice of Life. Everyone is welcome to share writing and comment on others in this special community. 

  

 

"Is that a seal?" Amy asked. 

The three of us were sitting on the beach enjoying the inconsistent warmth of a late May afternoon. I swiveled my head toward the ocean, just in time to see the seal's head duck under the rolling waves. 

Along the beach, distant dots of people continued with their conversations and castles, oblivious to the quiet creature lolling through the water along the strip of gentle sea that exists just before waves begin to break. Maybe the seal was curious about the human activity along the stretch of sand. Maybe the seal had a destination or a friend to meet. In any case, he or she surfaced again and again before disappearing into the deeper waters. 

We don't often see seals along the Rhode Island shore, and I'm not thrilled to have them showing up since they are food for sharks. 

However, in that moment, tucked into the weekend when we welcome summer, planning and preparing for all of its possibilities, we found fun watching the seal stroll the shore as if it also was welcoming summer along with us. 

Slice of Life: Friends Who Love Books...

  On Tuesdays, Two Writing Teachers hosts the Slice of Life. Everyone is welcome to share writing and comment on others in this special community. 

  

 

Over the weekend, I reconnected with friends from college. There were six of us, two of whom I see and talk to regularly and two of whom I saw for the first time back in October after a very long stretch, but I hadn't seen one of my friends, Stephanie, in over thirty years. HOW am I that old? 

We finished a long lunch full of laughs, stories, and even wine, and then we headed out to poke into some shops. The first shop we went in: Bank Street Books, one of my favorite independent book stores. 

Stephanie, unbeknownst to me, had returned to the working world after her banking career and kid-raising as a library media specialist. The two of us beelined for the children's section, sharing favorite authors and picture books. I've been remiss at keeping up with new releases, and my summer TBR list grew! When we returned to the adult section, the other four had talked to the visiting author and gotten books signed for themselves. Everyone was passing around favorite recent reads.

Tom Lake? Just finished it. Liked it, didn't love it.

Heaven and Earth Grocery Store? Everyone in my book group was divided. Some loved it, some not. I couldn't keep track of all the characters. 

The Frozen River? You've GOT to read that one! 

James? We'll be talking about that one! Let me know when you finish it. 

These snippets of conversations and reviews are only a sampling. Could I be more appreciative to have these women both in and back in my life? 

Slice of Life: What I Do With My Time

 On Tuesdays, Two Writing Teachers hosts the Slice of Life. Everyone is welcome to share writing and comment on others in this special community. 

  

 

As my youngest daughter closes in on her 22nd birthday, I can't help but remember the event that changed my life that happened 10 days before she was born. May 17, 2002. My father was on crutches due to his recent hip replacement. (Hip replacements have come a long way.) Since some prankster had smashed the mailbox with a baseball bat, my brother, a doctor, was in my parents' basement fixing it. Sometimes, control is a tough thing to give up, and my father couldn't, so he decided to head downstairs to supervise. Except he started with his foot instead of his crutch and went headfirst down the flight to a cement floor. Even now, the faint bloodstain is there if you know where to look. We all spent the summer supporting his TBI rehabilitation. And he spent the rest of his life-- 17 years-- with significant and life-altering conditions. 

My husband is now exactly the age my father was when he fell, and this crossroads has impacted me. My word for 2024 is time. It's been a powerful one so far, nudging me to think about what I do with my time and how I plan for the future, nudging me to live with heightened awareness of how quickly time passes and how easy it is to think I'll do something someday-- and then not do it. 

During an on-line PD session this afternoon, one of the participants came on early, and was writing and working as I welcomed her in. She apologized for multi-tasking, and I complimented her use of the extra few minutes. Then, we talked about time and how much we can both do given the luxury of a few extra minutes. 

Funny how I can do so much in such short spurts of time-- and 22 years ago feels like it just happened... and like it was centuries ago. 

Slice of Life: Revisiting the Possibility of No

On Tuesdays, Two Writing Teachers hosts the Slice of Life. Everyone is welcome to share writing and comment on others in this special community. 

  

 

"Yes," I said. 

"Sure, I can do that," I said. 

"No problem," I said. "I can get it done."

This afternoon, I received a text from someone, and without explicitly reminding me, she reminded me of a long-standing responsibility I have to get something other than those referenced in the first three responses of this slice. Could she see my reaction to the text through the distance between our phones? Thankfully, the world of technology hasn't figured out how to teleport a reaction from a textee to a texter. Therefore, I had the luxury of figuring out my response. Should I fess up that it was good she reminded me (even though technically she hadn't...) or should I pretend and play along that I would NEVER forget a long-standing responsibility?

I don't know why it's so hard for me to lie-- misrepresent?!?-- I just can't. I know, I know...that's a good thing. 

Maybe I need to rethink the three responses and give "No, I really can't" a try. Or maybe it's almost June and time to refill my tank. My One Little Word for 2024 is time, and I really am trying to be aware of how I spend it. Really, I am.