Writing With Abandon

I woke up, again, without any idea of what to slice about. This is going to be harder than I thought. (But I guess that’s why they call it a challenge!)

I told P last night that I missed the spontaneity of in-person work, how slices really do just appear when you are interacting with others. How in my work, I am interacting with others, but it’s through a screen, so it doesn’t feel as real as in-person interactions (even though, as I remembered with my fully remote class from 2020-21, I am building strong relationships with my team members and clients, just as I did with those students, who I only ever met on their graduation day in the park).

Do virtual moments count as slices?

Would it count if I wrote a slice of life that happened months ago?

I could close my eyes and remember our week-long facilitator training and fish for a slice there. I could slice about the walks to and from the dining hall, which I took with a different person every day, both of us eager to get to know one another better. Or the wild-looking cat, Albert, who was, in fact, a very people-loving cat, and just wanted to be around humans. Or the various energizers that we played, like Buddy System and Extension Cord. Or the way that the puddles splashed up onto my new white sweatpants, how I’m thinking about dying them a darker color now.

Would any of those count?

Because, see, I’m worried that this month, slices are going to be hard to come by.

My days are mostly the same.

I take Phoebe on two to three walks around the block every day. I have some tea. I eat a morning snack. I go back and forth between sitting and standing as much as possible. I stretch and walk around the apartment. I send messages on Slack. I review lots and lots of documents. I send lots and lots and lots and LOTS of emails. I attend and lead many meetings. And in less than a month, I will trade all of that in for facilitating a student program in the Yukon and attending a conference in Atlanta. And then six weeks later, I’ll be off in Australia, first to travel solo, and then to facilitate another student program. In August, I’ll be in the Pacific Northwest, and then back in D.C. And after each of those, I know I’ll be missing P and Phoebe and our home and my desk and the simplicity of this work from home life.

Don’t get me wrong — I love my job, even the remote parts. And I wouldn’t go back to teaching tomorrow if it were offered to me with a higher salary. My body and brain can’t handle it anymore.

But it’s not the same as the endless sliceable days you get when you have other people to experience those slices with.

Like Ili’s hilarious slice about driving to school with Ollie, and Ollie’s parking abilities.

Or Gianna’s slice about the joys of first grade jokes.

So this morning, I’m struggling and feeling a bit slice envious.

I’ll try to see today with different eyes and capture the slices that I know are there.

In fact, I just thought of one that I’ll try to remember for tomorrow!