Last week, it was Thursday around 1:00, I sat in my teacher lounge. It was an ordinary day from my ordinary life. I had finished lunch and felt like tuning out for a moment so I opened Facebook on my phone. NPR had shared the passing of Mary Oliver. In the moment I read the words I felt a bit of something leave me. I imagine it was a moment of grief. I never met her, yet I did meet her words. They will forever hold meaning in my life. I cannot think of a time since I began slicing or hosting Slice of Life that words of Mary Oliver have not somehow resonated within me and made me feel like the air around me created a spirit of life and beauty. As I write these words now I feel a bit weepy on her passing. I have shared her here many times and today will be no different and yet so different. I share these words with you today, from her, and I hope you feel the joy, wonder, and possibility in them like I do. Thank you Mary Oliver, for all your words.
I decided very early I wanted to write. But I didn’t think of it as a career. I didn’t even think of it as a profession…it was the most exciting thing, the most powerful thing, the most wonderful thing to do with my life.
~Mary Oliver

WRITE a slice of life story.
SHARE your link in the comments section.
GIVE comments to at least three other SOL stories.
Before you go, be sure to take a look at the following links in case you missed any new information regarding the SOLSC March Challenge and the April Challenge for classrooms.
Joy of Books: https://wp.me/piUJM-373
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My morning walk led me to a new look of winter. http://beyondliteracylink.blogspot.com/2019/01/digital-snow-art.html
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We Keep Trying……
http://iowaconflictedteacher.com/2019/01/22/we-keep-trying-sol19/
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Thanks Elsie for the nudge – I am back after a long absence.
https://beverleyabaird.wordpress.com/2019/01/23/sol-tuesday-3/
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I nearly forgot, well, everything… http://persistenceandpedagogy.com/2019/01/22/i-didnt-forget-i-just-didnt-remember/
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Today…
http://elisawaingort.com/2019/01/23/today-2/
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Beige. https://alotalot.wordpress.com/2019/01/22/slice-of-life-beige/
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Seeking out something new to learn! https://wp.me/p8BwQK-hJ
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Still trying to process the events of the past weekend.
https://ritadicarne.com/2019/01/22/who-knows-the-truth/
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It might be an “easy way out”, but it’s an accurate representation of my current brain space…
https://writingandlaughing.wordpress.com/2019/01/22/tuesdays-haiku-soltuesday/
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When one of you former students pass away and you are left with a treasure. Her writing…https://fallhugs.blogspot.com/2019/01/forever-ten.html
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Why I show up every week…
http://www.teachersforteachers.net/?p=16910
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Memories of a great dog!
https://readwritetravelrepeat.wordpress.com/2019/01/23/fred/
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Kitchen nightmare? Happily, no. https://cast-of-characters.blogspot.com/2019/01/acquired-taste.html
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We’ve had some wild weather lately…
https://wp.me/p2fY1t-1h7
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The late Mary Oliver makes a brief appearance in my “Currently,” Betsy. Such
a loss to the writing world. https://wonderingandwondering.wordpress.com/2019/01/23/currently-sol19/
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What do you do when junk takes over? https://reflectionsontheteche.com/2019/01/22/slice-of-life-kondo-monday/
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Finding my way around the kitchen with my daughter’s help
http://readingamidthechaos.blogspot.com/2019/01/finding-our-way-in-kitchen-sol19.html
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Wrote a short poem about tests while my students are in the midst of state testing:
https://learntoteachmjh.blogspot.com/2019/01/test-1-2-3.html
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I’ve been a parent for eight years. It amazes me that my children are still schooling me about what matters the most.
https://raisealithuman.wordpress.com/2019/01/22/mittenproblems-2/
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I composed poetry while sitting in the waiting room at a doctor’s office:)
https://wp.me/p5LXww-1eI
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It’s report writing time. We don’t give grades in our primary school but write comments. I spent hours reading what other teachers had written about their students.
https://justforamonth.blogspot.com/2019/01/do-report-card-comments-make-your-tbr.html
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Repeat, Repeat, Repeat …
https://wordsfromjl.wordpress.com/2019/01/22/repeat-repeat-repeat/
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Happy to be flexing my writing muscles and joining this writing community again this week. Still thinking about my one little word- joy.
https://lisakeelerblog.wordpress.com/2019/01/22/a-little-saturday-afternoon-joy/
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if it’s not one thing, it’s a completely different thing.
https://readingteachsu.wordpress.com/2019/01/22/one-little-thing-sol19/
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The SOLSC announcement gave me a smidge of anxiety. haha. Here’s my slice for today: https://iheartpurplestuff.blogspot.com/2019/01/grief-bonding.html
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I see several old friends have posted today after a long absence. I join them today because of a tweet yesterday.
https://lcinmo.wordpress.com/2019/01/22/one-tweet-one-word/
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A slice about some slices
https://booksandbassets.wordpress.com/2019/01/22/pizza-for-lunch/
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It’s that time again! Perusing Plant Catalogs with a MIssion in Mind!
http://theapplesinmyorchard.com/2019/01/22/plant-catalog-cravings/
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It’s been about a year, will be fun to read what everyone’s up to: https://www.teacherdance.org/2019/01/slicing-for-friend.html
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https://tammysreadinglife.wordpress.com/2019/01/22/winter-outing-sol19/
A local cafe and used bookstore was the perfect Sat outing!
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Being the Marvelous Mrs Maisel for a day:
http://starryeyedenigma.com/2019/01/22/slice-of-life-tuesday-2-being-midge-maisel-for-a-day/
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Don you believe in haunted houses? I didn’t, but then…
https://arjeha.wordpress.com/2019/01/22/haunted-house/
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I got to teach music!!!
https://moonsnailsdaisiesmarmots.wordpress.com/2019/01/22/a-music-teacher/
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Betsy’s SOL inspired my own reflection on poet, Mary Oliver.
https://readandwritebysally.wordpress.com/2019/01/22/mary-oliver/
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Amtrak…
https://standingtall47.wordpress.com/2019/01/22/amtrak/
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Wow, it’s been a long time… Glad to be back,
Bonnie https://wp.me/p3Gehh-4CS
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A Hug from his Spirit: http://theamyrudder.blogspot.com/2019/01/dads-hug.html
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Attention https://terierrol.wordpress.com/2019/01/22/attention-focus/
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A reflection from my weekend – http://enjoy-embracelearning.blogspot.com/2019/01/laughter-and-giggles-slice-of-life.html
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Trevor Bryan’s newly released book, The Art of Comprehension, expanded my thinking about my own work with writers!
https://dmsherriff.wordpress.com/2019/01/22/reading-pictures-exploring-theme/
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I just can’t seem to take down the Christmas tree. In this slice I ponder why that might be. https://ebgriffin1119.wordpress.com/2019/01/21/oh-tannenbaum-oh-tannenbaum/
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It all started at the Ice and Smelt Festival…a bit of a slice and a bit of an announcement
https://nixthecomfortzone.com/2019/01/22/it-all-started-at-the-ice-and-smelt-festival/
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Mining past posts for inspiration, WordCloud style: https://horizon51.blogspot.com/2019/01/tuesday-slice-cloud-of-january-words.html
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Today is PD Day!
https://iblessings.wordpress.com/2019/01/22/professional-development-day/
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Going back in time today: https://wheresthejoy.wordpress.com/2019/01/21/3082/
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Also: Beautiful tribute to Mary Oliver in today’s invitation to write, Betsy. She was, herself, an invitation to write. And to live fully.
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Hair salons are fabulous places for absorbing dialogue – especially when you overhear the word “writing”:
https://litbitsandpieces.com/2019/01/21/something-to-say/
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Honoring the MLK Jr holiday . . .
https://franmcveigh.wordpress.com/2019/01/22/sol19-celebrate-action/
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Proof I am not musically inclined, but I can still be a learner. https://msvictorreads.wordpress.com/2019/01/22/new-learning-can-be-hard/
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It’s book award season and I’m still reading possible winners!
https://pleasuresfromthepage.blogspot.com/2019/01/slice-of-life-newbery-musings.html
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For some reason, my comment isn’t visible on your blog Ramona, so here it is:
I have been away from Slicing for months and you are the first slicer I read… I’ve been away from reading as well… and I’m back there as well… so it was so great to feel your book love and get so many recommendations.
YAY and Thanks,
Bonnie
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Waiting to read other slices 🙂
https://mukhamani.wordpress.com/2019/01/22/letter-from-home-4-sol-2019/
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A little moment of quiet in the midst of an epic road trip!
https://www.allaboutwriters.com/blog/off-the-beaten-track
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