Slice of Life: On A Day When Nothing Happened

(This is part of Slice of Life with Two Writing Teachers.)

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Nothing happened yesterday. Nothing of note. I am sitting here, early morning with a cup of coffee, mulling over what I might write about for my Slice of Life. There’s always something. But, I can’t find a little nugget to grasp and build a single story around.

So, on the day when nothing happened, here are some small bits of a day that might fold into something:

  • I wrote a blog post in the morning. No one commented.
  • We began an overview of narrative story writing in class, examining and charting out some plot ideas as a way for my students to envision the structure of a story;
  • We did character sketches — short pieces of writing about a character that goes beyond name and description, focusing in on motivation and the strengths/flaws that enrich a character in a story. We used my oddly weird Storyteller Cards for this. The kids loved the cards.
  • It was Picture Day. The weather cooperated, so we were able to do it outside. It disrupted the day’s schedule but we rolled with it.
  • I kept moving forward with Benchmark Reading Assessments in every free moment of the day, and the prospect of weeks of testing this way has me tired every time I think of it.
  • A union meeting after school about stalled contract talks made me weary. I know contract talks are always negotiations, but it seems like we are pretty far apart right now.
  • I was met at home by my son, who asked if I had remembered to bring home the last book in the Maze Runner series. I had. Also, the prequel. He dashed to the car, and came in, book open, already reading the first pages.
  • Restaurant Week is this week in our small city, known for its arts and restaurants. My wife and I slipped out and away from the kids to enjoy a nice meal together at an upscale restaurant we normally could not afford. It was yummy.
  • Confirmed meeting with the owner of a music practice space. Our band is reforming and on the roam for new space to practice in. It’s stressful to be a homeless band.
  • My son decided to go for a bike ride at dusk. “A quick ride,” I said, before heading off to get another son from baseball practice. I came back, and the bike rider is still gone, and the streets are getting dark. Grabbed the dog and started looking, slightly worried (he is known not to always look at street crossings). No signs. I come home, and then see the note from him that he is with a friend and family at the neighborhood school. I go there, and they are just coming home. It’s dark now. I say, meet me at the top of the street. He cruises right home. We have a “discussion” about “listening skills.”
  • Read Aloud to my son and then reading quietly to myself, and then … sleep.

Peace (in the daze),
Kevin

13 Comments
  1. Your day sounds like the read aloud I did recently, “Nothing Ever Happens on 90th Street.” Thanks for sharing your day!

  2. It’s amazing what happens when you start writing about “nothing”! This would be a great mentor text for kids when they have that same feeling that they have nothing to write about.

  3. I love this post. I have way more of these kind of no one comments, no one notices, and where are those kids anyway kind of days than the extraordinary ones.

  4. When I read the title via Twitter, I thought – ah, delicious, because when there is nothing official, those are often the times when the most really happens. It was a lovely lot of un-nothings that happened and I’m sure you wouldn’t trade them for official ‘somethings’ for the world. When those days spring up in the chaos of busy teaching lives, they are fantastic. It is always nice to read your writing- thank you for sharing!

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