Milestones

March 1, 2026 #wherewerv, #SOLSC Day 1

So many milestones are around what you might call “big events” – births, anniversaries, deaths, the start – or end – of a job. Some have parties, while some might be festooned with awards. 

Others are only noticed when someone points them out.

This is my 6th year with the SOLSC (Slice of Life Story Challenge.) You can read about the beginning of it here.

I decided to kick off this month at the beginning (for me, at least).

Year 1: I explored the SOLSC with a group of fellow teachers in our district called Teachers Write, started to encourage us to participate in the SOLSC. (See here https://teacherswrite.com/ )  Ona at https://onathought.com/ was the driving force behind the group and provided much support. I don’t believe I blogged every day, but I do know I tried. I also remember feeling awe for those who did, as well for those who had their very own blog.

Year 2: Although we could keep working with the TeacherWrite blog, Ona encouraged us to start our own. So, I created wherewerv.wordpress.com. Originally both Greg and I thought we might write, but I kind of took it over. (I’ve offered to have him write in the years since, but he has yet to take me up on that.) 

This was the last year I spent as a full time classroom teacher before retiring. Much of my March writing revolved around that. We also realized just how much we enjoyed camping, so that became a focus, too.

I’d like to note that I continued blogging on Tuesdays. (I am impressed with myself. Another milestone for me!)

Year 3: My first year being retired brought lots of joys… It was also my first year subbing, which my home district calls “guest teaching”. There are some fun slices from those days! That year was the last Greg worked full time, and some of my blogs express the excitement I felt at us being able to fully create our own schedules. And, I continued on Tuesdays. Go me!

Year 4: We took our (first) big trip in the spring and summer of 2024. A lot of this March’s blogs dealt with planning, planning, and more planning. I committed to as many Tuesdays as I could during our 17 week trip while we explored the mid/western part of the US. (Some places with spotty service made this interesting.) There were some struggles that year, which I addressed on various Tuesdays as the year rolled into 2025.

Year 5: I chose a One Little Word (OLW) this year, balance, because my life felt so, so out of balance. Rereading both the March and the Tuesday blogs makes my heart hurt for my loved ones (and myself) with all our varied struggles. It’s slowly been improving for many of them, but not (yet) for all. I’m learning to LET IT GO. (Well….I’m working on this, at least.) 

Year 6: This brings me to today. While I don’t have a focus for this March, I’m hoping each day will bring one (or more) ideas to write about. I guess I can look at this as another chance to practice being flexible…we will find out! 

Now that I’ve written this, there are multiple milestones over these last six years, both big and small. Here’s to another milestone in my writing life.

Like lots of people, we bought a “Covid camper” but we soon traded for a bigger model. Here are some of our first adventures!