Slice of Life: Sometimes It's the Little Things!

Who knew that a good mood was so readily available? It's been a long ten days at my house. The last time I ventured out was to attend the grandsons' Pinewood Derby on Saturday, January 24th. I've cracked open the door a few times to snap pics and even opened the garage to watch son-in-law, Will, and grandson, Jack, clear the ice-covered driveway and then return a few days later to shovel the 8+ inches of snow. No school last week, a snow day on Monday, and then remote learning today. It's been a long haul for the mamas and even for this grandma. 

My husband got the flu at the beginning of our bad weather and I thought I had escaped until the end of last week when I came down with symptoms. That kept me from venturing out with hubby to the grocery store between storms. We're glad he was able to restock our provisions before the snow arrived, but to my dismay, there were no Pepperidge Farm Gingermen available. I'm not usually a fan of store bought cookies, but these crisp molasses ginger men hit the spot. I can even stop at one, especially when I'm on the last package. That crisp crunch of molasses, ginger and cinnamon with a sprinkling of sugar on top hits the spot every time.

Here's my poem celebrating ordinary things (inspired by Kim and Georgia) as I ventured outside for the first time in ten days !

Roll trash can to curb

Inhale crisp, life-giving air 

Spy cookies in bin 

I had no idea that a stroll with our trash can to the end of the driveway could feel so refreshing. I'm planning an outdoor stroll this afternoon on our neighborhood's cleared streets, (as soon as I get out of my pajamas). And then on my return to the house, I spy in our garage, not one, but TWO packages of Pepperidge Farm Gingerman cookies in a plastic bin. Ten days in and I'm an easy girl to please!

Slice of Life: 2026 Youth Media Awards!

I almost missed watching the Youth Media Awards live yesterday. I was chatting with my niece when I remembered that they started at 11:00 am (ET) and it was already 11:20. I had nothing else on my calendar. We're still iced in, so how did I almost miss this very important gathering? They must have spent a bit of time introducing the event because I hadn't missed much. And certainly not my favorite award, the Newbery which always comes near the end.  

I made some lists last year when I turned 70: 7 lists of 7 things to do during my 70th spin around the sun. My list for Newbery possibilities is the only one that I've completed (exceeded) so far. 

Newbery Possibilities & Awards Garnered

(in the order that I read them):

1. The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest  - Newbery Honor

2. The Trouble with Heroes - (passed over, reminds me of the year Wonder received no recognition & my students were furious)

3. Will's Race for Home - Coretta Scott King Author

4. All the Blues in the Sky - Newbery Medal

5. Bad Badger - (received 9 write-in votes on Heavy Medal's final ballot)

6. The Teacher of Nomad Land - Newbery Honor 

7. The Nine Moons of Han Yu and Luli -Newbery Honor

8. How to Say Goodbye in Cuban -  

Outstanding Comics Award – Children in the Category of Nonfiction Honor Books

9. A Sea of Lemon Trees: The Corrido of Roberto Alvarez -

Newbery Honor & Pura Belpre Honor 

The most amazing thing happened this year. I read all of the Newbery Award winners before they were announced! During the fourteen years that I've been tracking my reading of Newbery possibilities, this has never happened before. For years, my students and I read along with King County Library's You Choose the Next Newbery and Mock Newbery Award Choices. Now, lest you think I have a superpower for detecting winners, let me share my method. I follow SLJ's Heavy Medal, A  Mock Newbery blog and their recommendations directed my reading. In fact, I added books 7 & 8 to my list after they were included on the final ballot of 15 titles. I'm not sure why I picked up A Sea of Lemon Trees, maybe because it  won the Charlotte Huck Book Award or perhaps because Betsy Bird mentioned it in her 31 Days/31 Lists for American History or maybe because I love verse novels.

For a look at the award winners, with some added insights, check out Betsy Bird's post, ALA Youth Media Awards: The Interviews, Videos, & Behind-the-Scenes of the Winners. 

I go straight from the Awards Ceremony to my library site to request other books I want to read. Yesterday's requests include: 

Whale Eyes: A Memoir about Seeing and Being Seen 

The Poetry of Car Mechanics

Legendary Frybread Drive-In: Intertribal Stories

The Pecan Sheller 

How about you? Are there any award winners that you are looking forward to reading? If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest, my personal pick for the Newbery Medal.

Slice of Life: My 2025 Reading Year

Each year I meet with a group of online friends to talk about our best reads of the past year. Last year for the first time, I created a post about my best reads. It was a good way to look back and reflect on my reading year. 

I belong to too many book clubs - two in Greensboro, one in Washington, another occasional group of friends that meets (not monthly) to discuss spiritual/contemplative texts, and a group of three friends who meet to read and maintain our long distance friendship. 

Sometimes, I feel that my book clubs keep me from reading what I want to read, but the overall benefit of staying connected with old friends and making new friends keeps me on the book club express.  This was a remarkable year when I allowed myself to read more middle grade books (a personal favorite) and to pick up fiction books that weren't on my book club lists.

With no further ado, here are some of my favorite reads by category for 2025. I've included a picture of my top book in each category:

 

Fiction 

This Tender Land 

The Correspondent 

When the Cranes Fly South 

Remarkably Bright Creatures 

Hamnet  

Cat's People (a perfect feel-good cozy read)

Frozen River  

The Road to Tender Hearts 

With Love from London 

Nonfiction 

The Small and the Mighty 

Memorial Days

  

 Middle Grade Fiction

Not Nothing 

The next seven titles were published in 2025 and are 2026 Newbery possibilities: 

The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest 

The Teacher of Nomad Land

All the Blues in the Sky

Bad Badger

The Trouble with Heroes 

The Nine Moons of Han Yu & Luli  

Will's Race for Home 

 

Picture Books

The House Before Falling into the Sea 

We are Definitely Human 

Go Tell It: How James Baldwin Became a Writer 

Snow Is

Fireworks 

 

 Please leave a book recommendation for me. My WTR (want to read) list is already out of control, so a few more titles won't be a problem. Cheers for a great reading year in 2026!  

SJT: My OLW for 2026

I've spent most of today thinking about this post and between one thing and another, it has taken me until early evening to sit down and write. In my Tuesday Slice of Life, I shared my words for the past 13 years and included a lengthy list of words in the running for this year's word. With no further ado, I'll unveil this year's word, rhythm!

While I love the idea of rhythm in music and poetry, this dictionary definition most closely shows one of the areas I may focus on for this year. 

A strong, regular repeated pattern of movement or sound

Synonyms: cadence, pulse, flow 

The words "regular and repeated pattern" make me think of routines or rhythms that I might work on during 2026. 

When I searched my blog for rhythm, I found my September 2019 post that invited our community to write about Nudges. This post referenced a podcast from Emily P. Freeman, Episode 90, Start with this Simple Rhythm. Emily shares a five movement rhythm she uses for her mornings. If you're like me, it's helpful to see how others create space for their soul to breathe. And doesn't just seeing the word "breathe" help you slow down to focus on the rhythm of your body? I plan to begin 2026 with a focus on my morning routine. There's something absolutely freeing about having a routine. It releases us from the need of constant decision making about what to do next. 

I also discovered a SJT post from June 2025 where I was in search of feasible summer rhythms and invited our community to write about summering. So perhaps rhythm was beginning to simmer as early as last summer! 

I am excited to see where rhythm will take me in this new year! 

Slice of Life: Rambling in Words

 Here's the post I wrote in 2013 before selecting my first One Little Word:

"I'm awash in words.  How to CHOOSE just one?  I've never done this before, but I've loved reading your posts about choosing one little word for the year.  As I REFLECT on 2012, I can sum up my incredible journey with the word  plunge.  March was the month that my students and I took the plunge to write every day.  I had never posted to Two Writing Teachers before, but with an incredible group of students by my side, I joined this group and I've never looked back.

It's been fun to DISCOVER that I'm a writer.  I SAVOR Tuesdays when I join my fellow bloggers to LISTEN.  Your words ENCOURAGE, ENRICH, and INSPIRE me.  I feel your EMBRACE through the kind words you leave on my blog.

I'm in search of a FOCUS that will help me CAPTURE the GROWTH that beckons for 2013.  I want to become less scattered and find more BALANCE, to go SLOW, to CELEBRATE more often.

I love words, so this task of choosing just one is overwhelming!  I'm trying to DECIDE which word calls loudest to me.  And I think it's the word that has no voice to call, but instead beckons me to a quieter path, one that asks me to LISTEN to my own voice more often, to trust that I can make progress bit by bit in this new year, to LISTEN to the voices around me, and to LISTEN for the gentle spiritual promptings that can guide me on my daily journey. 

I plan to spend a few days LISTENING before I commit to my one little word for 2013."

And here's the poem I've added to as I've selected a word each year:

 

Listen to the stillness, 

Savor the present moment,

Stretch to grow, and always 

Abide in His love to 

Nourish my soul and reach out in love. 

 

Delight in small moments and simple pleasures,

Try, a gentle word inviting growth and change.

Light becomes a beacon during difficult times,

Comfort wraps me in a year of coping with loss,

Clear, a call to deal with my stuff.

 

Gather is stuffed into a box for the NC move,

Gather pleads for more time and another year.  

Be, an opportunity to focus on the moment

 

And my word for 2026?

Here's a list of the current contenders:

steady, care, reach, authentic

strength, hold, energy, commitment

rhythm, focus, ease, playful, 

shine, serenity, hope, appreciation 

Stop by on Thursday for my SJT  (Spiritual Journey Thursday) post and the unveiling of 2026's OLW. 

And now I'm off to read your posts for this new year! 

Slice of Life: Afterglow

I am continuing to enjoy a book of Advent devotionals, Christ the Light of the World, by Thomas Kinkade. My bookmark in this small devotional book is a poem created by Margaret Simon for SJT at Reflections on the Teche. She wrote an image poem for each word of advent and I've enjoyed revisiting them as I've read the short devotionals in my book. I especially loved her poem for week 4:

Love 

leans in for a gentle hug

warming intuition 

and keeps glowing 

Kinkade refers to the time after Christmas as "afterglow", one of his favorite times of the year. I too love the gentle time between Christmas and New Year's Day, times when I can savor waking up early and sitting peacefully in the light of the Christmas tree. I spent most of yesterday reading, warming my hands and heart with a mug of hot chocolate. I'm old school and leave my tree up until January when I tenderly remove each ornament and think of the memories associated with each one as I pack them away.

In Kinkade's devotional for Week Five, Day 29, he speaks of the tension between doing (the active life) and being (the contemplative life). This was especially meaningful for me since "be" is my OLW for 2025. 

Kinkade writes, "Once we reach the day after Christmas, the world of doing takes a grand time-out. . .  Savoring the afterglow of Christmas is a learned art and one worth the creative effort. " 

I declared a pajama stay-at-home day today. I delighted in watching a Christmas movie accompanied by a mug of cinnamon apple spice tea. I also visited with family and friends via phone calls.  

How have you embraced being and not doing in these days after Christmas? How are you basking in the love and afterglow of this season?

Slice of Life: Love arrived in the night sky!

I read these words last night from Kate Bowler's advent Day 23 reflection:

"So here we are, a few days from Christmas, and maybe the invitation is to look for love in small ways. In a text that says, 'Made it home safe.' In a neighbor shoveling your walkway. Love in the God who came close, unnoticed but never unneeded.

Blessed are we who believe that love,
no matter how small,
is enough to remake the world.

---

Where have you experienced love arriving this season in small ways?"

And that's when I knew I had to share a moment from last night as I stepped out of our public library. The evening sky took my breath away. I grabbed my phone to capture it, hoping the pics would do it justice. I soon realized that this was a moment requiring multiple pics. Here's what I saw as I did a 360 turn in the library parking lot:

Before I reached the car, my phone rang. It was grandson Robby! He knows how much I love beauty. He noticed the night sky as they ate dinner and insisted that his mom call me so he could tell me to go outside and look. This is the same little guy who used to tell me he would take a "memory pic" as we spied fall color when I delivered him to and from preschool. And then I would hear his little click from the backseat!

I wish you small moments of love (and time to savor them) in the midst of your busy days. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a very Happy New Year to each of you!