SOL Day 31: Reflections on the SOL Challenge

Here it is, the final day of the month-long Slice of Life writing challenge. Thanks to the fantastic team at Two Writing Teachers for this terrific event. I thought I would finish out the challenge by reflecting on my experience this month.

This was the first time that I participated in the SOL challenge. Thanks to Cathy Mere and Deb Frazier, my colleagues and friends. Not only did they encourage me to participate, they also supported me by reading and commenting on my posts and giving me ideas for posts when I got stuck.

I also appreciate all the fellow slicers who stopped by my humble little blog and commented on my posts. It was great to build my PLN and make connections with fellow teachers and parents. I really feel blessed to be included in such a great community. We really do understand and support each other.

When I started this challenge, I knew that I could write for a purpose, but I never really considered myself a writer. Through the challenge, I feel like I gained confidence as a writer. I've always found it difficult to teach writing because I didn't identify with the writing process. Now, I feel like I can be a better writing teacher to my students.

This was the first time I attempted to write poetry. During the challenge I wrote two poems. I didn't know if I did it right, but what I realized was there is no right or wrong. I enjoyed the challenge of conveying my thoughts in such a minimalistic way.

I also encouraged my students to participate in the Classroom SOL challenge. I was surprised by some of my students who chose to participate. I didn't have just the students who were the best writers participating, I also had students who struggled with writing who were enthusiastic about it. I was pleased to see them stepping outside of their comfort zone.

The majority of my posts were written at home and my 12-year-old son and I had numerous conversations about the challenge. As we were talking one day, he decided that he wanted to start a blog and participate. When I told him that the month-long challenge was over, he asked about other challenges that he might be able to join. I'm hoping that he decides to join a challenge and continue to hone his skills as a writer.

Overall, I really enjoyed this month of writing and discovery. I don't know how many people read what I wrote, but that's not what is important. Yes, people want to know that someone is out there, interested in what they have to say. But, I learned that when you are a writer, you do it first for yourself. So, even though this challenge is officially over, I am going to continue writing. I hope to see you all for SOL 2015.

SOL 30: Marathons

Throughout the Slice of Life Story Challenge this month, I have written a lot of posts about my family. After all, my family is the center of my universe. Being on Spring Break for the last nine days hasn't hurt the chances that a post will be about them.

This weekend, my family had the latest in a series of marathons. I'm not talking the type of marathon that involves running shoes and long distances. We have movie marathons. My husband and my two oldest sons spend Friday, Saturday, and Sunday in our basement "screening room" watching movies on a theme. I spend the time making snacks or running a "concession stand" while catching up on work or watching movies. This weekend I finished watching the show "Veronica Mars" while they were having their marathon of X-Men movies.

My husband goes all out for these marathons. He creates a program, designs a logo that I iron onto t-shirts for everyone, he makes "swag bags" full of goodies and prizes on the theme, and decorates our downstairs rec room. He loves creating a lineup of movies and making "trailer blocks" of all kinds of cartoons and movie trailers.  The boys love it too. It's a chance for them to spend all weekend just goofing on movies and hanging out with their dad. Plus, they have what seems like a never-ending supply of snacks and soda.

Over the last two years or so we have had a marathon of all the James Bond movies, the Superman sequels, Star Trek movies, Predator and Alien movies, movies for which the composer John Williams wrote the scores (Jurassic Park, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, etc.), 24-hour Sci Fi and Horror, Harry Potter movies, Monsterthon (classic monster movies), Planet of the Apes, Turkey Day (a bunch of cheesy movies we watched on Thanksgiving weekend), the StuporBowl (more bad movies we watched over Super Bowl weekend). We usually schedule these over holidays or extended weekends.

This is just another example of how we have found a way to have fun and make memories with our family without spending a lot of money.

Liam being "sorted" during the Harry Potter marathon. 

The items in the "swag bag" for the Superman marathon.

Me and the family during the Star Trek marathon.

The decorations in the basement where we have our "screening room" for the marathons.

Some of the snacks setup for the marathons.

SOL Day 29: The Choices We Make

Every day of our lives, we have to make choices. Some are easy, some are hard. Some are big, some are small. But, when it comes down to it, they are our choices. Unfortunately, there are people out there who think that they have a right to evaluate our choices and judge them as right or wrong.

When my husband and I got married, we made decisions about how we wanted to live our life together. When we became pregnant with our first child, we had some really big decisions to make. I was a full-time teacher and he had just left his corporate job to be a freelance writer and independent filmmaker. We made the decision that I would continue to work, and he would stay home with our child.

This meant making certain sacrifices. We weren't going to be able to take big vacations anymore. We would have to drive our cars into the ground. We wouldn't have new furniture in a big house. We knew that there were going to be lean times, but we decided that it was the best choice for us. We wanted our son to have at least one parent home with him and not send him to a daycare or sitter.

The work situation we chose to go with meant that while I was at work, my husband was at home with our kids. When I got home from work, I was "on duty" while he did his work. This meant that he was essentially working third shift. Our kids didn't have traditional bedtimes. Nobody ever seemed to understand that my husband slept late in the day, not because he was lazy, but because that was his nighttime after putting in an eight-hour work day in the middle of the night. We didn't feel that it mattered for the kids until it was time for them to go to school, and it didn't.

Our choices also meant that we rent a house rather than owning one. With the way the economy and housing markets are, this is probably one of the best choices we have made. We have seen friends spend months with their house on the market, stuck where they are at. They may have had to take less than they were asking just to unload their old house. Or, they sell their house and have to live with their parents until they save enough money to put a down payment on a house. One friend spent Thanksgiving Day dealing with a sewage backup. At our house, if something breaks, we just call the landlord.

So, I don't live in a big house that I own. I don't get to take yearly vacations to Disney. I drive a 2003 Saturn and my husband drives a 1998 Taurus. But, these are choices we made so that our kids would always have a parent at home with them. These are the sacrifices we made so that our boys can go to summer camp at their dad's old camp. If we want to take a big trip with our kids, I set up a savings account that we pay into every paycheck until we have enough. If we want to take a getaway for just the two of us, we budget for it.

People may make judgments about the choices we have made, but I don't really care what they think. We have three very intelligent, well-adjusted sons who know that we love them more than anything in the world and that we are willing to make sacrifices for them. These are the choices I've made, and I don't regret a single one.