Slice of Life: March 1 -- Time to Slice Again

"How did it get so late so soon? It's night before it's afternoon.  December is here before it's June.  My goodness how the time has flewn.  How did it get so late so soon?" ~Dr. Seuss

How did it get so late so soon?  That's a good question to ponder, especially as I sit here writing my first Slice of Life post of 2015.  March is upon us, and I wonder how we got here so quickly, so soon.  The school year is beginning its downhill stretch, yet in so many ways, it seems like yesterday that I ushered in a new group of students on their first day, eagerly anticipating the start of another year at the middle school.  Christmas has long since passed, but the decorations, presents, and celebrations seem so vivid in my mind, as if they were here only a short while ago.  To quote Dr. Seuss, it truly does feel like "the time has flewn."

While I know there are still 24 hours in a day, 7 days in a week, and 365 days in a year, time seems to be moving at an increasingly rapid pace.  Perhaps it is the fact that I have gotten older.  As a child, adults always warned me that time seems to move faster with age.  Perhaps it is the fact that my life is suddenly so busy -- full of responsibilities, demands, and a seemingly unending list of people and things that desire my attention.  Perhaps it is the fact that everything around me seems to be moving faster.  Technology is changing daily, the world seems to be getting smaller, and our society in general seems to be used to getting what we want, when we want it, failing to remember that patience is still very much a virtue.

Why all this talk about time?  Mainly because beginning this blog again this year has taken me back in time, to a year ago, when I first embarked on this journey with my colleagues and students.  It seems like yesterday that I sat down and wrote my very first Slice of Life entry.  Oddly enough, a year ago I was complaining about the weather and the possibility of snow.  In some ways, things haven't changed.  In many ways, however, much has changed since a year ago, when I took a chance and decided to "slice" for 31 days.

As I stumbled upon my blog from last year, I couldn't help but read the first entry that popped up on my screen.  Intrigued, I read another, then another, until slowly but surely, I had read all 31 entries from last March.  As I mentioned, a Slice of Life took me back in time.  I was taken back to the day my husband and I blessed a waiter at a local restaurant with a generous tip.  I was reminded of the spring's first round of golf, its misery and glory all wrapped into one.  I remembered the day I celebrated my birthday with my family, the time I was reminded to choose my attitude, and the day that a fellow colleague blessed me with her kind words.  I was able to relive those 31 days as I read each entry, and with each story, was reminded of the lessons learned and the joy I experienced as I shared my life with you during the month of March.

I am excited about beginning this amazing journey once again.  Much has changed since a year ago when I wrote my first post.  Looking back, I grew as a writer and rekindled my love of writing.  I truly believe a Slice of Life made me a better writer and challenged me to think in ways I hadn't thought before.  I also was reminded of the importance of making commitments and following through.  Writing for 31 days was difficult.  Admittedly, some days my writing was much better than others and on a few occasions, I wrote simply to fulfill my obligation of "slicing" for 31 days.  My goal this year is to be purposeful, to use each day as an opportunity to share my thoughts, provide some sort of insight into my life, and to pass on some of the lessons I have learned in life.

I know 31 days seems like a long time.  I know that at some point during the next few weeks I will become frustrated.  I know there will be days when I will sit at my computer, staring a a flashing cursor as I struggle to find the right words.  I know there will be days when I am tired and don't feel like I have the time to devote my energy to one more task.  That's when I need to remember that time flies.  In what will seem like only a moment, I will be looking back on this month and all that I accomplished.  I will soon be looking back at each day's entry with a smile, amazed at what I did when I committed to writing every day during the month of March.  I will choose to savor the journey and remember the joy that comes from writing. 

Soon I will be saying, "How did it get so late so soon? It's night before it's afternoon.  December is here before it's June.  My goodness how the time has flewn.  How did it get so late so soon?" ~Dr. Seuss