#SOL21 | 17 | Sideways into Writing

Today's slice was the culmination of a few challenges.  And so I want to preface this by mentioning those challenges that led to the creation of the piece I'm about to share.

First, it was yesterday's #10min10days challenge with Tammy B.  The prompt was to write for 10 minutes starting with the phrase "Right now..." and then look back at what you wrote and look for sparks.  My writing happened outside on my patio and focused on the usual sights and sounds with the occasional intrusive thought.  And then, source unseen, I picked up on the smell of cigarette smoke.  

As soon as I smelled it I was reminded of my Grandma Sug and I wrote about how I hadn't actually sliced about her before.  By now I've written plenty of slices about both of my mom's parents, but not my dad's and definitely not my Grandma Sug.  That was interesting to me, but at the time I just let it sit in my notebook.

And then today I visited EthicalELA's final Open Write invitation for the month I saw that the prompt was Backwards Poetry.  Katrina Morison provided examples there, but then also suggested when trying this form of poetry to "...take on change. Deal with something that is or needs to be turned around. Then, the form will truly reflect the content of the poem."  The aspect of "change" really struck me and after having written about my Grandma Sug yesterday. I decided to not only write a poem about her, but also dedicate this slice to her as well.

It was after I had written the poem that I realized it could also serve as a slice -- but I didn't want to just post the poem without some context and backstory.  Which brings us here and now to today's SOL post.  That's three challenges woven together for one blog post.  Pretty impressive I would say.

#SOL21 | 13 | Inside the Box

March 13 - 17 is Open Write over at Ethical ELA and so today's slice was inspired by the prompt there: "Weddings at Recess."  After reading the prompt and the example, I was immediately taken back to the summers I spent in the care of my grandma.  The grandkids -- usually me, my sister, and my cousin -- would take over an entire room off of the living room.  

It was appropriately called "The Play Room" because it was where we were allowed to play, spread out our toys, and do all the things kids love to do when given free reign of a place.  This was where all the toys were kept, as well as the children's books, dress-up materials, and whatever else our young hearts could desire.  Funny enough, it's not the toys I remember well, it was the cardboard boxes our grandma would bring home.  So this slice is about that.