SOL 2/31 & SJFT: Connection

Today I join my fellow bloggers in "serving up a slice" 

to the Slice of Life (SOL) community.

Thanks to Stacey, Betsy, Beth, Kathleen, Deb, Lisa, Melanie, and Lanny

for hosting this meeting place each day in March

and for nurturing our writing lives.

I stand at the copy machine in my husband's office.  The whir of the copy machine comforts me because I know with each page I copy, I'm capturing the words that I connected with in the library book, Present Over Perfect by Shauna Niequist.  The continuing whir of the copy machine causes my husband to ask, "Are you copying the whole book?"  No, just the parts that I connected with, the parts that spoke solace to my soul.  

It's Saturday morning and two young men bring a special joy to the day as we connect on FaceTime.  As I chat with my son, Blake, grandson Teddy climbs over his dad, babbles joyfully, wanders across the room and makes music by banging gleefully on a toy.

It's Sunday evening and our new grandson and his parents arrive for dinner and an evening at the Oscars.  I revel in my new role of  grandmother.  I tuck Jack into the crook of my arm, sing his favorite song, rock to and fro, and delight in the rise and fall of his chest as he sleeps snuggled against me.  

It's Wednesday morning and like many of you I wake early, excited at the prospect of a new month of writing every day.  I'm determined to write before I comment.  Once I've posted my slice, it is with delight that I return to your posts and the chance to comment.  Your stories resonate with me as I nod my head, delighted at the ways you share your joys, your sorrows, and your challenges.  I reach for my notebook (well, to be honest, it wasn't beside me on the bed), so instead I grab my phone to capture moments of connection when your words are ones I know I'll want to revisit and copy into my notebook.  From my friend B at Live, Write, Teach:  "If I don't slice, opportunities evaporate to connect with old friends who celebrate, encourage, share."  And from our friend Ruth Ayres, "...what sets SOLSC apart is the writing community that develops. Every year it feels magical to me. The connections and the comments fuel writers."

I think of my friends at book club, the sisters in my church, my retired friends, the students in my after school book club, the former colleagues I see when I stop by school, the young girls and their parents who share our pew every Sunday, the friends I'm linked to on Facebook and Instagram, the family members that I chat with on the telephone.  All connections that enrich my life and bring joy to my days.   

I pick up my spiritual journal, happy to reread moments of connection with scripture and thoughts recorded during quiet time.  I note with sadness that it's been a few days since I sat quietly to read, to ponder, to feel the love of the Lord, to make a connection with Him.   And I renew my commitment to "Be still and know that I am God," "for he satisfieth the longing soul and filleth the hungry soul with goodness."

Today I chose to pair my Slice of Life with Spiritual Journey First Thursday.  This group, started by Holly Mueller, used to write every Thursday.  I'm grateful to Irene Latham who recently suggested that we gather again on the first Thursday of each month. This month we're writing about Doraine's OLW (one little word), connection.   Check out the roundup at Dori Reads.