Slice of Life: March 1 -- Another Year of Slicing

I awoke this morning in darkness, enveloped in the warm covers of my bed.  I smiled amidst my grogginess, certain I still had several hours of slumber until my alarm clock sounded the start of another day.  I rolled over, found my phone buried under the covers next to me, and glanced at the time: 4:44 a.m.

Ugh.  Sixteen minutes.  Sixteen minutes until my day would begin.  Sixteen minutes until my quiet peace would be interrupted by the morning rush.

I silently scolded myself for looking at my clock in the first place.  How did the hours pass so quickly?  How could I only have sixteen more minutes of rest?  How could I go back to sleep now, now that my mind was already reeling with thoughts of the day, worries about my seemingly unending to-do list, and wondering how day two of my new morning routine would go (I'll explain more about that in a later blog).

I snoozed until 5:30, then trudged out of bed and began getting ready for school.  I went through the motions of the morning, half asleep and doing my best to snap out of my early morning fog, all while mentally planning out my day:

• Finish planning tomorrow's staff meeting.
• Don't forget to reply to the email I received at the end of the day yesterday
• Work on the schedule for upcoming MAP testing 
• Call the pharmacy to refill a prescription
• Participate in tonight's Twitter chat
• Write Slice of Life post

Slice of Life?  Is that really today?  Is today March 1st?

These questions swirled in my sleepy, foggy brain until I finally convinced myself that it was indeed March 1st and that meant my first "slice" would be beckoning later in the day.  I wish I could say that realization was met with enthusiasm and a certainty surrounding my first blog post.  Unfortunately, if I am being completely honest, my first thought was the same thought that crossed my mind when I first glanced at my phone this morning and saw those numbers staring back at me.  Ugh.

I feel a little embarrassed to admit that feeling.  After all, I am the one who agreed to participate.  After all, I am the principal, the leader, the person who should be motivating and inspiring others to accept this challenge.  I should be filled with excitement, enthusiasm, and joy.  Instead, I felt a twinge of discouragement this morning.  How can I possibly do this again?  Year one was a challenge.  Year two was downright difficult.  But, year three -- what can I possibly write about this year and where will I find the time to devote to this important task?

Those questions were still floating through my mind at 3:28 this afternoon.  I glanced at the clock and made the swift decision to gather my things and head home for the day.  I convinced myself that I could finish my to-do list at home, believing I could be more productive later.  I grabbed my laptop, picked up my phone, fished my keys out of the container on the corner of my desk, turned off the light, and shut the door.  I took a few steps out of my office and stopped in my tracks.  Slice of Life.

I unlocked my office door, flipped on the light, set down at my desk, and opened my laptop.  "I might as well do this now," I thought, as I logged in to my blog and was greeted by the flashing cursor and empty page.  My head that had been so full earlier in the day with things to do was completely empty for topics to write about.  I looked at my past blog entries, searched for a quote, and thought I had found my inspiration for this first post.  As I began writing and words began to fill the empty page, my topic shifted without me even realizing it.  No longer was I writing about how fast time flies or the start of March or even about slicing.  I realized I was writing about life.  My life.  My busy, exhausting, wonderful life.

My long to-do list?  That's busyness and lately, that's my life.  My initial feelings about slicing?  That's exhaustion, a feeling that has recently become one of my constant companions.  Wonderful.  As busy as I am and as tired as I may feel at this moment, wonderful, however, is the best way to describe my life.  It's filled with newness and joy and excitement and wonder that sometimes, unfortunately, I lose sight of when I get caught in the midst of busyness and exhaustion.  It's in those moments that 4:44 a.m. and the thought of "slicing" for thirty-one days is greeted with an almost audible groan.  However, when those moments pass, I realize that the sound of my alarm brings forth a new day full or possibilities and that "slicing" means thirty-one opportunities to share my story, my life with others.

Yes, "slicing" will be hard.  Yes, I'm still feeling a little uncertain.  Yes, I am sure there will be other days when I will greet writing with an inaudible (or perhaps audible) groan.  However, that's life.  It's hard and it's uncertain and it's wonderful all at the same time.  That's life and that's what a Slice of Life is all about.

So here we go.  Day one is in the books.  The first piece is written.  The challenge has been both extended and accepted.  I'm committed and willing.  And, as I type this sentence, a smile has spread across my face.  It's March.  It's a Slice of Life.  And to quote one of my friends, "It's gonna be great!"