I am participating in the March Slice of Life Challenge: A slice a day for all of March. You should do it too! Thank you, Two Writing Teachers! Readers, check out their site, and start slicing! I’m also celebrating with Ruth Ayres today!
March is a celebration of writing for me. Now that it’s over, I need to find a way to keep it still.
I’m in the Wegman’s line (yes, again). The cashier asks me, “Do you want this double bagged?”
“No thanks. Thanks for asking though.”
“Do you want one of your teas left out?”
“No thanks. Thanks for asking though.”
And then she seems to ask, “$39.85?”
I really want to say “No thanks. Thanks for asking though.”
As I walk away, I laugh to myself at this little mini slice of life. It’s the last day of March, so I’m thinking hard about slices and how to hold on to all of this noticing and writing.
Walking to the parking lot, I almost get hit by a car because I assumed they were stopped for me. . Then as I walked down the sidewalk to grab a coffee a young man swung in front of me. I hoped my trajectory was obvious, but he spun around and pulled the door open with a flourish. Only, it was the door to the hair salon. As I passed him by he looked embarrassed and said, “Well, I guess you aren’t going there.” I opened the coffee shop door wondering if my hair looked like I definitely needed to go to the salon.
I’m already sad about all the slices I’ll miss after today. I’ll try to write slices weekly, but we all know how that goes. I’ll try to jot notes on my phone, but I mostly I won’t. History says I’ll still notices slices. Once you slice every day, it’s hard to stop noticing. But, will I write them? Will I write?
Walking into the shop to grab my coffee, I notice all the people at tables, with open computers. I’m so jealous of what looks to be focused writing. For all I know, they are probably studying and annoyed to not be somewhere else, but still. It is cozy there, with the smell of coffee, the soft chattering of friends, and the clicking of keys.
I hope I can take this habit of writing and tweak it just a little. I have other writing projects I want to finish, some I still need to start. Some have been revised, some need to be revised. I have query letters to write, and I have to figure out who to send them to. If I’m jealous of people sitting in front of open computers on a Saturday afternoon, I think that means I need to write more, not less. I’ll write. I have to write.
On a Thought 
It really sounds as if you have internalized the habit of noticing, along with your sense of humor! (Love it.) It also sounds, as you conclude, that you will find ways to keep writing. Be lured by those coffeeshops 🙂
How to hold on to to all this noticing and writing — YES, that’s what I am trying to figure out! Good luck with your writing! 🙂 ~JudyK
I hope you’ll keep writing every day! After March, my writing becomes more private. I write regularly without sharing. Or I share it but fewer people know I am posting on the blog. It’s still all useful and instructive!
In a way, I need a break from all the noticing but I feel like I understand so much more about myself, writing and teaching writing after this challenge. We need to hold each other accountable for Tuesdays. Are there other slicers among us? I’ve had some recent noticings at Wegmans too but some of them are better left unwritten:)
We should try to recruit some more. I have a few ideas… and now I need to know your wegmans slices. 🙂
Will I write is a question I’m asking myself too. I loved how your slice here captured that question through a story from your day.
Love your retelling of noticed moments… thanks for making me laugh at the door to the hair salon one… Hope I see you on Tuesday SOLs … you can do one a week!
You had me at the mention of Wegman’s! My daughter and sil were in Ithaca for two years. Every visit I made to see them made me more of a Wegman’s fan. And now they live twenty minutes away and no WEGMAN’S for either of us. I applaud your resolve to keep writing and to take this determination and tweak it for your other writing projects. Good luck and happy writing!
Such a fun bit of writing. Thanks for noticing and then sharing those moments with us. I wish you the best as you keep writing.
If you feel the tug to write more after a March of slicing…then you have found the writer in you to keep going, whether it’s March or not.
Write daily is the advice I was given and I try to do so, even it is a very small thought. Hope to see you on Tuesday, Ona. I am in Syracuse this weekend and went to Wegman’s bakery today. I love that store. We do not have one on Long Island.