#SOL    

 

Enjoy every moment; you never know when things might change. ~ Natalie Imbruglia

Sometimes when you don’t plan you end up having the best time. Take last Saturday for example. My husband and I kept tossing around ideas for what we were going to do once we tackled a few things on our “to do” list. Much to my surprise one of my colleagues emailed me saying she had two extra tickets to the Phillies/Marlins 6:05 game. I told Chuck of the offer, and we looked at each other a couple of times before deciding to seize the moment. What was our hesitation? Well you see the weather was not exactly baseball worthy. It was cold and a little windy.

We bundled up, packed a cooler bag, and set off for Citizens’ Bank Park. We looked more like we were going to an Eagles’ game just in red rather than midnight green. We were decked out in hoodies, hats, scarves, and winter coats. I even took a blanket! The drive down was uneventful, and before you know it we were entering the stadium and receiving a free t-shirt! We only had a short walk on the concourse to get to our seats in the right-center field. We were only a hop, skip and a jump from the bullpen. There really isn’t a bad seat in the whole ballpark!

The best part of the night was that the Phillies won 20 -1, and we got to witness two grand slams! So glad we decided to brave the weather and go to the game, if not we probably would have been asleep on the couch before the game was over.

     #SOL18 Day 31

 

Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try. ~ Unknown.

Dear Fellow Slicers,

We made it! Thank you to each and every one of you for helping me complete this challenge.

Many days I perused your blogs in search of inspiration, and I always found a new idea, format, or topic on which to hook my keyboard. You are an amazing group of writers.

Thank you for your thoughtful feedback. I learned more about giving feedback myself. There is a big difference between commenting on the work of my students and commenting on the work of accomplished writers.

Many people in my life asked me why I was doing this challenge; they didn’t quite understand. So I found myself asking myself the questions, “What is a slice?” “What are these things I’ve been writing about?”  This is what I came up with.

S – something large or something small
L – lifted from lives of one and all
I – inspired by individuality or imitation
C – cause for concern or celebration
E – ending with a sense of accomplishment

I won’t promise, but I am going to do my best to remain part of the SOL community by posting and responding on Tuesdays. I hope to see many of you there. If not….see you next year!

#SOL18 Day 30          

Today I am trying my hand at a 34-word story. Inspired by Kelly Gallagher and Fran Haley.

From Bethlehem to Nazareth she watched Him grow. Mary knew His life would change the world. Her Son. She silently watched as Jesus carried his cross to Calvary where He died for our salvation.

Whether you are celebrating Easter, or Passover, or nothing at all, I wish peace, and joy, and the feeling of hope that spring brings to us each year.

 

#SOL18 Day 27

If you realized how powerful your thoughts were, you’d never think another negative thought again. ~ Natural Life

Today was our last day before Easter break. We ended the day with an assembly with two members of the Harlem Wizards. The Harlem Wizards were created in 1962 as a basketball show team to compete with the Harlem Globetrotters. We were visited by “King Arthur” Lewis and Hang Time.

These two men provided the audience with basketball tricks and positive encouragement. They had some students and faculty members (not me thank goodness) up to dance and learn basketball tricks. Once they had the crowd sufficiently riled up “King” Arthur settled the kids down and had a serious message to share with them.

Work hard – nothing is given to you. If your teacher gives you five pages to read for homework don’t just skim over it. Read it and take notes on it, so you learn what is on those pages.
Respect – those around you are your brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers, aunts and uncles. Don’t judge others by the color of their skin, their size, or how much money they have. Respect everyone.
Dream Big – don’t listen to naysayers. You can do anything if you do the work. You earn grades, playing time, and circumstances.
Spread love, joy, and happiness – love an appreciate those around you. Speak positively to them and to yourself. If you don’t love yourself, you can’t love anyone else.

“King” Arthur went on to tell some personal stories of how growing up in Baltimore, no one thought he could be able to play basketball for a variety of reasons, but with the adults in his life – his parents, coaches and his faith he got his education and did play basketball. He even wrote a book about it and self-published. It is called Is the King to Small to Play Ball?

He told the students and faculty about how his life changed in 2016 when his 16 year old daughter was diagnosed with cancer. She was out of school for a year and a half while going through treatment. He wanted to impress on the kids that we never know what life will bring us so we have to treat each other with respect and love and appreciate one another.

I know the kids loved the assembly; I hoping they got his message too. I know he gave me food for thought.