Last Slice for ’10: 80/365

This is my  Last Slice for March 2010, but there’s more Slices ahead.

That’s the nice thing about writing and sharing on the web:

IT’S NEVER OVER!

There’s more  SOLC on Tuesdays, there’s challenges from the Daily Shoot, from  Naplobomo and more and more.

Inspired by Kevin’s podcast reflection yesterday, I’m remembering…

Year One of SOLC and I was still coming into my own in my fairly new life without  a classroom but with time to write into each day. I had been writing daily on the Word Count Journal (Year 4 began on January 1st) and blogging about movies,family, the world of digital storytelling, and my work with the Hudson Valley Writing Project. I was exploring and getting comfortable with tools and sites and  following some regular blogger: Kevin,for one. I was leaving comments and getting responses and it was addictive. I had moved out of my private writing and onto the public publishing  that blogging offered, but when I became a Slicer the idea of an online writing community opened up.

During that first year of slicing I was in Israel and sharing my adventures with words and photos.  The comments were wonderful and even though my timing was a bit off with the 7 hour time difference, I loved moving from blog to blog, getting to know my fellow Slicers.  Our group was smaller then,  last year as well, but as Stacey and Ruth have built up a strong, award-winning  blogsite for educators, their community of Slicers grew probably beyond their expectations, which is good for all of us but more challenging to get to everyone.

Yes, I love writing, and I love shooting a fresh photo every day but the thrill of blogging is that sharing. Every year my Goggle Reader grows and every year  responses to my posts increase and I want to say, that my writing is also getting better.  I hope so.

My Slices have always been filled with my own life challenges, with big and small events with Tuvia, with travel adventures, with my work with teachers and students in the world of technology and with our writing project, with movies, books and of course, politics.

I will continue to post something every day; that’s my personal challenge and I will continue to read and comment on blogs that I have come to know and love, but there’s something extra special about this month of March Slicing at Ruth and Stacey’s. It’s an intense month of writing and sharing with that SLicing community.

The picture above marks my  first face-to-face  breakfast with Stacey and Ruth in the midst of the NCTE  and the NWP annual conferences in Philly.Kevin also got to meet them during our Philly time.  I hope we make our breakfast an annual event as well.  There’s something fantastic that happens when you share as a writer online- the bond is real, even if it is virtual.  The face-to-face meeting feels comfortable, like it’s not the first time..because it hasn’t been. We have been getting to know one another, sharing authentic sices of our lives and the things we treasure.

So I’m here and I’m staying. Please keep coming back and I will do the same.

Slicers, YOU ROCK!

Bonnie

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