Slice of Life: The Slow Crawl of Light

(This is for Slice of Life, a weekly writing activity hosted by Two Writing Teachers. The aim is to capture the small moments of life. You write, too.)


flickr photo shared by dianecordell under a Creative Commons ( BY-NC-ND ) license

A bunch of us teachers wandered down the hallway. After a long Monday of teaching (on the heels of a disappointing loss by the New England Patriots that seemed to cast a solemn glow on all of the classes), and then an even longer afternoon of a staff meeting, our working day was nearing an end. Many of us were checking our phones for messages from home or maybe glancing at a cat video to transition away from work.

We stepped out through the door towards the parking lot of our school and paused. All of us. Just stopped. Phones were put away, or at least, feigned towards pockets. The sun was shining, although the soft wind still had a winter bite to it. Faces turned upward.

“Last staff meeting, it was dark when we came out,” someone observed. “The days are definitely getting longer.”

We all just stood there, a small group in silence, nodding.

“I guess Spring will be coming,” another added, and we all gave quiet thanks that the storm that walloped the East Coast not far south of us had deemed us an area not worth visiting. None of us wanted to acknowledge that it is still only January, and New England weather has a way of making its presence known right through April some years.

“I guess so,” I said, and smiled, and then we all wandered off to our cars, making our individual ways back home after a short communal gathering in observation of the changing nature of Nature.

Peace (in the moment),
Kevin

9 Comments
  1. I love the description of the long, dark day and then the communal way the group stopped to notice the light. (The line about the cat videos cracked me up!) The post makes me think of how there is power in community. Everyone was on their own phone, tired after a long day, but then stopped together to notice something beautiful in nature. Was that moment more powerful because it was a collective experience? Lots to ponder.

  2. My husband was telling me we had rounded the corner of winter. I nodded, also not wanting to kill the moment by reminding him Maine in January isn’t really halfway through. Beautiful post.

  3. Oh I love that moment of discovering it’s light more than it’s dark. You captured it beautifully…the words slowed down in the awe of the moment. Wishing that storm missed me right now. So. Much. Snow! 🙂

  4. It’s lovely that you all noticed, a pause in that long day to refresh, ready for a good evening. Yes, I’ve noticed the light stays later for us, too. Nicely captured moment ‘in the light’, Kevin.

  5. This is great example of a Slice of Life Story, Kevin. You captured one tiny moment of your day and really put the reader there.

    Do you mind if I use this as one of my Be Inspired posts for the March SOLSC challenge? If I have your permission, please email me at danamurphy143[at]gmail.com. Thanks!

  6. Yes! I love that it’s staying lighter later. When there’s a little more light at the end of the day, it boosts your mood. Yes, we still have a long way to go before spring, but there’s a light at the end of the tunnel!

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