Slice of LIfe - One Little Word for 2016

I love participating in Slice of Life, started by Two Writing Teachers and writing a story, reflection, or musing at least once a week.
 

 

     I started choosing a One Little Word in 2014 (other resources can be found here, here and here.)  It was JOURNEY.  I loved that word and still do.  It was inspired by Aaron Becker's beautiful wordless book, Journey.  Last year, I chose FOCUS, inspired by Cynthia Lord's thought-provoking middle grade novel, Half a Chance.  It only makes sense that this year's word would also be inspired by a book.  This year's decision was tough.  I had several words that popped up and seemed like strong contenders.  One was CHANGE, and the other was CHILDLIKE.  As of this morning I thought it was going to be CHILDLIKE; this word came from a sermon I heard on Sunday given by our Children's Ministry Director.  Even though I didn't ultimately choose it, I'll be writing about it eventually, and I'm incorporating it in the word I decided on for 2016:  WAIT, inspired by Antoinette Portis's nearly wordless book, Wait.  This picture book is one of my favorites of 2015.  Here is my Goodreads review:

 

How does Portis say so much with just two words (and one extra thrown in at the end) and some delightful illustrations? This book reminds me so much of my daughter, Libby, when she was a toddler. When she was that little, we lived behind my mom and dad's house. When we wanted to visit them, we had to walk up a long gravel drive. I used to say she had no sense of destination, just journey. She would stop and pick dandelions, squat down and look at a bug, pause to put a rock in her pocket, chase a butterfly. It was a full-on adventure every time. Adults tend to just get from point A to point B, and we don't stop to enjoy the in between. We could sure learn a thing or two from children! Perfect ending to a story full of life lessons - the mom got it!!

 

     As I read that review again - I wrote it last month - I see that the reason I loved the book is that it blends the concepts of  journey and focus.  It also encapsulates childlike.  Perfect. 

 

I used Thesaurus.com to find synonyms for WAIT and then made a Tagxedo image.  I used the dove shape because all the words made me think of peace!

 

    

 

I will be writing more in the future about the domains of my OLW:  the personal, professional, and spiritual aspects of why I picked it.  I write a Spiritual Journey post every Thursday.  Starting this Thursday, I'll write about the spiritual aspect of WAIT.  Like last year, I'll be making a schedule to write about the OLWs of others who link up to Spiritual Journey Thursday.  If you'd like to participate, we'd love it!  Just let me know you're interested in the comments, and I'll add you to the schedule!  It was enlightening last year to read others' thoughts about your OLW!

Also, David Etkin and I will be reading and commenting on our classes' Kidblog post on our students' OLWs on January 15th.  Let us know if you'd like to join us!  Feel free to use David's OLW graphic: