Reflection: week 1

It's 11:00a.m on Saturday morning. I am sitting on my living room sofa, with a laptop on my thighs, and a plate with eight apple slices and seven walnuts on the coffee table next to me. The small white round table also holds a cup of peppermint tea, two pens, the case for my reading glasses, five green post-it reminders and two thin books of essays with bookmarks to show how much I have read already and how much more to go. I just came back from a short walk. I pretended that the thin layer of snow had not fallen and went out in sneakers. I am thankful I didn't land on my bottom in places where the snow masterfully hid thin layer of ice. My thighs under the laptop still tingle slightly from the cold. The walnuts and apples are gone now. 

I celebrate the slowest and the quietest March holiday week I have had in a decade. I am so thankful for the freedom and calm it offered. I had space in my day and head to let the ideas arrive and the words to flow.  Without the pressure of the time I had fun writing my own slices and reading what others crafted. I enjoyed writing in the mornings. I know this will change next week when I return to school, and it's ok, it makes this week even more special and my heart even more grateful.  

My plan for this week was to write and comment as much as I could. And I did. The holiday week provided ample of time. About a month ago I envisioned going to town to gather inspiration and to write in cafes on some days. The skyrocketing Covid cases cancelled this plan. I started each day slowly, sleeping long, doing mindfulness and some yoga, then eating breakfast and completing a quick domestic duty, like vacuuming the living room. And then I sat down to write. Each day I wrote a slice on the blog and then extra snippets in my journal. On Wednesday I had a personal writing retreat, four hours of writing with outside walking breaks in between. It was strange to make and stick to a schedule on a day off. The result was productive and satisfying, so I might give it a try in the future too. 

I appreciate that the Two Writing Teachers keep the Slice of Life community active. Hard to imagine my Tuesdays without blogging and March without the writing challenge. I appreciate that the readers respond with warm and caring comments and make me feel seen and valued. Hopefully my comments bring the same feeling to the other bloggers.

Wishing you all a Saturday with many reasons to smile!