1: Break the Budget

It's like I'm standing in a store
nickel and diming the decision to pass or buy
that unique (and beautiful...) dress
My inner monolog presents
valid
        captivating
                  enticing
                            resonating reasons
In dissent, in affirmation
The crowds mill, I'm lost in thought

This is where I've been the past few weeks
"Do I slice?"

"I don't have time to write right now...projects, presentations, complicated bedtime routines"
But you can make the time...you do every March

"I don't have much to say right now..."
But you can use all the stories from the past year...the special, the maddening...you can preserve them

"I don't think I'll be able to keep up with reading and commenting"
But you can budget, my dear, a little bit every day...

"Are you slicing?" my mom asks this morning

It's like capturing lightning bugs in the clearest Mason jar
swooping up one memory and screwing on the lid
to admire its significance, its glow
Preserving this chapter
my littles
      my loves
             my thoughts
For them, for me
The responsibilities tug, I wonder
"Do I slice?"

If I don't slice, memories flicker and fade into time's deep, dense, shapeless expanse
If I don't slice, opportunities evaporate to connect with old friends who celebrate, encourage, share
If I don't slice, chances to name and notice these blessings in this little life speed by every day

"Yes.  I'm going to slice," I say for the eighth time.

Write on,
b