Tag: lists

Halfway #SOLC25 15/31

Today we are almost halfway through the March Slice of Life Challenge. My family and I are about halfway through this security line, but not yet halfway through our trip home. On paper, my lessons are less than halfway planned for next week, but in my head I’m way past halfway done. I am not even close to halfway done with grading I was supposedly going to do during March Break.

Statistically, I’m more than halfway through my life.

I tend to think of myself as a glass-half-full sort of person, but sometimes I’m glass-half-empty.

I’m really hopeful that the snow we left behind will be more than half gone when we get back. I’m only one third of the way through our bookclub book, and the next meeting is Friday. No problem. (See: glass half full, above.)

I’m starting to slow down on this list, so I’m almost certainly more than halfway through.

I’ve made eye contact with over half of the babies in this line, and played peekaboo with two. I’m half ready to go home, see the pets and sleep in my own bed, and half wishing we could live in Cayman forever. I halfway wish I’d used the washroom before we got in this line.

Some of our clothes were only half dry when we packed them today. Sigh.

We are not even close to halfway through Trump’s second term, but we are more than halfway through the 2020s.

Many people believe that we are living in the beginning of a new era, the Anthropocene, but my family and I are now at the end of the line, so I’m at the end of this post.

Better things #SOL24 9/31

I have better things to do. I could be writing or reading other people’s blogs and commenting. I could be tidying the house before guests come, or just tidying in general. I could be folding the laundry put in the wash first thing this morning or running some errands. I could be working out or doing yoga.

To be fair, I’ve already been out for a walk and gone to the hairdresser. I’ve had my tea and played with the dog. But now? Yeah, I have better things to do.

I could be looking at the work my students turned in yesterday or planning ahead for the next unit. I could be catching up on emails or finding the numbers of all the places I need to call for various appointments for various people. 

Still, I’ve already cleared out the fridge and reheated leftovers for lunch. I’ve already started and abandoned a list of the things that I will, in fact, have to do sometime soon. Because I definitely have better things to do, like calling my sisters or reading a book, taking a nap or knitting. At this point, even watching a movie would probably be better. 

So many things are out there, just waiting to be done. But it’s the first day of March Break and outside it’s rainy and gray. I’m on the couch, wrapped in a soft blanket, and the dog is sleeping at my feet. So instead of doing any of the many things I could be doing, I’m allowing myself a luxury I rarely have time for: playing mindlessly on my phone. 

Do I have better things to do? Nah, not really.

For D’Arcy: a list

If you are reading my blog regularly or semi-regularly this month (thank you!), you may have noticed that I’ve had a tough week. I know this makes several heavy posts in a row, but I suppose some weeks are like that, and these are the moments that are resonating with me. Thanks for hanging in there with me. I’ve been noticing plenty of sunshine even through this gray; I promise to share it soon. 

For D’Arcy – a list

I remember

  • You walked onto the frozen canal wearing only a thin – but very fashionable – shirt and a light jacket. Your mother muttered to me, “He runs hot. He has always run hot. I worry about him.” I thought it was sweet that she worried about a nearly-grown man. Surely you knew if you were cold?
  • The nurse called from the hospital, “He said to tell you he is fine. He told us that you are pregnant. He’s worried that you’ll be upset.” I was at work. You were not fine. I was upset. I still don’t know why you asked them to call me and not your brother. I was worried, you hot-headed boy.
  • We stood just outside the movie theatre near those stairs, the hot sun shining through the big windows, illuminating us. You said, “It must be so incredible to be growing a life inside you.” I was heavy and hot. “Not so incredible, just exhausting,” I grumbled, but you still had a look of wonder on your face. Or maybe I’ve added that.
  • Andre hung up the phone and momentarily filled the doorway, saying, “My brother is dead.” And then he crumpled. It was March. It was cold.

I can no longer remember

  • The last time I saw you.
  • What you cooked that night we came over for dinner.
  • What happened after that first phone call from the hospital. You stayed with us, right? Surely you stayed with us.
  • If you ever came inside our new house.
  • If you ever touched my pregnant belly.
  • If you ever felt your nephew kick.

It’s been 10 years. Even the most solid things are melting away. Is it a memory or a photograph? A story someone told? A detail I added to comfort myself? I can’t remember anymore.

I can’t remember.

slice-of-life_individual

 

Slice of Life, Day 23, March 2018

Thanks to Two Writing Teachers for this wonderful month of inspiration.

I can’t write today because…

the credit card company called and told me that someone is using my credit card (to buy from UberEats, of all things – clearly they do not have any clue about how to disguise their usage) and now I have to get a new one and I won’t have it for 7 days and even though I don’t think I use my credit card a lot I actually do and this is going to be a problem.

I have to fight with both of my children to get them to learn their math facts. This will take at least an hour for approximately 10 minutes of practice. Each

the batteries in the wireless keyboard are running low and I don’t know if any of the other batteries are charged and it’s too much trouble to go check.

I promised myself I wouldn’t write until I was done grading and I’m not going to be done grading until I die, which is going to make it really hard to write.

the cats are asking to be fed. Again.

and speaking of cat food, we are running out and someone needs to go buy new and you just know that’s going to be me.

I’m driving the swim team carpool.

I’m pretty sure that my writing posture is giving me carpal tunnel so I probably need to take the day off.

I’m not supposed to go on the computer before bedtime and bedtime is definitely near.

I’m on vacation and too many things have happened for me to choose just one to write about.

I told my family about my blog and now I can’t write about them so my source of inspiration is gone.

I’m just too tired.

(I’ve been keeping this list since the beginning of this challenge. Not gonna lie – I was hoping to save it for later in the month, but we’re on vacation and I am exhausted – go figure. So, here it is. And hopefully tomorrow I can process intense family time and great fun in a way that makes sense.)

 

slice-of-life_individualSlice of Life, Day 16, March 2018

Thanks to Two Writing Teachers for this wonderful month of inspiration.