Day 31 The Treasure Chest Closes #SOL17

On the first day of the March SOLSC, I wrote about this challenge being like a treasure chest. On March 1, the chest opened and each Slice became riches gingerly placed inside the box. Today, the last treasure is placed inside the box and another chapter closes. 

Ferris Bueller wryly said, "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." March is my chance to stop and look around- to slow down and notice, to wonder, to reflect, to question, to celebrate, to mourn, to feel. Writing every single day is not easy- in a month where report cards were due, and my daughter turned 4, and I attended professional conferences, and so on and so on. All the more reason to pause this month- to breathe in life, and exhale here, with all of you. 

I have been touched by your stories, your treasures, too. Reading the many Slices that were shared this month expanded my world view, my compassion, my conviction that we all have a story to tell. Writing by myself would not be the same as writing alongside other educators who believe in the power of words to light the way. 

As part of the Two Writing Teachers co-author team, I'm privy to the work and planning it takes to make such a challenge happen. I'm grateful to all the generous Welcome Wagon volunteers who care about the challenge and believe that new Slicers deserve an audience. I'm grateful to my co-authors who put in so much time and energy organizing information, soliciting prizes, running challenges, and finding inspiration to share with the community.

I'm also grateful to Stacey Shubitz, one of the founders of the Two Writing Teachers and our Chief of Operations and Lead Writer. It was Stacey's vision of a community of educators, who believe in writing, that has led us to this place today. Hundreds of educators and students writing every single day in the month of March, supporting each other, and doing it all to live the writerly life in the hopes that our students will do that, too. Stacey puts in an incredible amount of time and energy behind the scenes to keep all the moving parts of the challenge working correctly! Her vision, dedication, and inspiration have changed lives- most certainly mine. 

Today, this treasure chest closes. It holds this moment in time- March 2017, when I was 37 years old, a wife, a 3rd grade teacher, mom to a 6 year old and a 3 year old turned 4. Like Ferris says, life moves fast. I will never again have this month back to live again, but I can read all about it for years to come, revisiting these Slices, remembering what 4 looked and felt like, breathing in the way my son was at 6, reliving, just a bit, the days of my life. Treasures.