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{#sol15} new beginnings 31/31


The March Slice of Life Story Challenge
hosted at the Two Writing Teachers
Join us for a month of writing!

I was trying to think of some clever way to share my thoughts about the month long writing challenge today, but instead I decided to just write.  Here's how I'm feeling right now ... 
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{celebrating the end}
It's the end.  The end of another Slice of Life Story Challenge.  And I did it.  I wrote for another thirty-one days.  And you did too!  The Slice of Life Story Challenge party was packed -- and that is exciting!  Teachers, mothers, fathers, daughters, grandmothers, authors, poets -- all coming together to be writers and write for thirty-one days in a row ... 

Sharing story after story. 

{celebrating story}
I started this blog because of a nudge from Ruth.  (I thought she was really just talking to me, but I have many other friends who started this journey five years ago too!)  I was being brave and going to show the world myself that I could write, even if it was really just for me and my mom.   I thought this blog would be dedicated to writing about my life in the classroom, but I quickly learned that writing about my life at home and with my girls was where I wanted to share my words.  They were nine months old when I started this journey, and this May, they will turn five years old ... 

That's a lot of stories to remember.

{celebrating remembering}
So many stories that I don't remember writing.  Thankfully, my Mom and Dad have given me a gift that will live on forever ... for me and for my girls.  For every birthday and Christmas, I receive my slices and blog posts in a published book.  Just a couple days ago, I received volume 8 of my writing.  I now own eight published books of my writing and stories and slices of life.  I flipped through book eight forgetting all that I had written and ... 

Eight volumes of my slices!
All your thoughtful comments.

{celebrating you}
This community is amazing.  So supportive.  Always knowing just the right thing to say.  I still smile every time a new comment is left behind.  I'm always so thankful that you stopped by, leaving your thoughts and letting me know that you were here, especially during this challenge during a busy, full life we all live.  Me?  I stayed in my comfort zone this year.  I feel with so many participants, it was harder for me to venture out and connect.  Also, time to read your slices was limited between teaching full time and being a mom the other full time.  I felt comfortable reading my friends' in real life and friends' in the real world that have been with me on this writing journey ...  

Push me out of my comfort zone. (Next year, I need to sign up for the welcoming committee.)

{celebrating writing}
writing 
31 days
for the month
for 5 years
and every Tuesday in between
is all about
finding my happy 

bittersweet and sad
writing this last slice
habit formed
itching to write
more stories shouting out to me
but i need to {breathe}
and rest and live in the moment

It's the end ... but really a new beginning.  I hope I'll see you back here on Tuesdays. 

{celebrating new beginnings}


Comments

  1. Great reflections on a great experience!!!

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  2. What a reason for celebration and such a wonderful gift from your parents. What a rich way to end this month!!!

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  3. And this was not creative?! Every time your pen or in this case your fingers touch the keys creativity pours onto the page. I want to thank you for nudging me Michelle to start this journey at a time in my life when I needed it! You are the best! xoxo

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  4. Perfect reflection for this month! Writing from the heart always reaches and touches everyone. What a journey we have been on together for five years! Oh I so remember those early days when the girls were so little. What a change now! Life happens, you write, mom and day save it for you. What a gift of your words!
    Responding to your comment on my post, no I did not have it planned at the beginning. Actually it was playing with the vanillapen app that made me think about creating something. So you are truly the inspiration for the reverso. Pretty cool connection!

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  5. I so agree with Lynn. Thanks for the encouragement to start this venture and to continue it. It's great being able to share this with you and so many others. Looking forward to many more slices. Love ya, Mom

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  6. Such a wonderful slice that sums up the way many of us are feeling today. :)

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  7. Loved your commitment and your concluding poem.

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  8. Let's celebrate! I think it is truly an amazing achievement to write daily amidst the busyness of life. I am sure I have said it before, let me say it again, I am so happy we have been on this journey together. Your words are poetry. Your comments give me strength.

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  9. One of the nicest things about the SOLC is meeting new people like you. How have we both been slicing for so long and only now connecting? I hope you will continue with the daily writing during NPM using #DigiPoetry.
    How do your parents publish your blog? All of mine are only saved in cyberspace. I never thought of actually preserving them in print.

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  10. You and Elsie just blow me away - each time I visit, I learn of a new way to craft my writing. So great slicing with you!

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  11. I love that your family gifts you with your writing in a book. I treated myself this year and got my blog printed and bound. There is nothing like it!!!! I've loved blogging w/you and discovering new apps with you! Looking forward to continue the connection on Tuesdays!!

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  12. So hard to believe how time flies. Were those girls really 9 months old when we started? Fun to read all your thoughts today, Michelle. Happy new start!

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  13. You are such a talented writer.
    I'm excited that all our little comments are printed along with your big words in your books. Cool!
    Thanks for sharing all your thinking and all your enthusiasm for writing.
    It's contagious.

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  14. I'm so glad you write about your family life. I love reading your stories and learning more about you and your loved ones.

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  15. How wonderful that your blog posts are bound and published for you! It's the perfect reward at the end of these 31 days! Congratulations on another month of slicing. This was my first, I'll definitely be back for more!

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