Searching for Slices

Focusing on a small moment is challenging for me right now. When I sit down to write my mind is a whirl of changes at school (changing grade levels and rooms), parenting (she is at one of 'those' stages), and family health issues (it is a bit ridiculous how much they keep adding up, so I won't go into it). As my days speed by I try to notice the little things. I try to live differently, paying attention to possible seeds. Chunks of time pass and I realize I haven't noticed anything. 

Then, I flip to another student's introduction letter. As I begin to read, picking up the letter and leaning back in my chair, I realize the letter goes on and on. It is by far the longest letter, nearly three full pages. The writer's voice is strong and I realize who it is immediately, even though they neglected to sign their name. What strikes me most about this letter is how much this student is willing to write to tell me about themselves - their family and their interests. The irony that shines through is that this letter was written at home and the student goes on and on about how much they hate homework and how unwilling they are to do homework. Must be a semantics thing, because I asked them to write me a letter. It needed to be done before the class started the next morning. Good thing I didn't call it 'homework' or I would have missed out on this opportunity to find out all the student wanted me to know about them.