I breeze past the woman straining to hoist the baby onto her back, weighing whether it makes sense to stop and help.
nah
She’ll be fine
And as I catch a glimpse of her in my rear view, doing just that.
I remember Rhino and Elephant, gently snuggling them in, at different times, to the baby carrier, preparing to hike
It feels so undeniably fresh
I am Right. There. Now. In my mind.
And I have a moment of realization
we’ll never do that again
And it is sad
And so, I know that I must write about it
And so, here I am.
For the 31st time this past 31 days. Today with a sense of finality. And affirmation, that what we have done here is packaged up and presented tiny gifts to our future selves.
I know I’ll be back
Perhaps as a curious observer to my history, perhaps as host.
Most likely as both.
A spectator to my past self, an inspiration to future.
J pointed out, early in this journey, to keep a key question in mind.
who are you writing for
And while at its heart, I know it’s been me
It’s been nice to have company along the way
Get Up Eight 
This final slice is breathtakingly beautiful. From “tiny gifts to our future selves” to “I know I’ll be back”, this slice holds so much truth and wistfulness. Thank you for sharing. Take care and see you next year.
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Your final slice here has given me CHILLS. I can’t decide my favorite, but…
“And affirmation, that what we have done here is packaged up and presented tiny gifts to our future selves.
I know I’ll be back
Perhaps as a curious observer to my history, perhaps as host.”
It’s my first time slicing, and I love the thought of returning to this year’s posts to see how much will have changed. I already can’t wait for 2022! 🙂 Thank you for sharing and congratulations!
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You too, appreciate the comments and sharing the writing journey with you! Keep writing! 🙂
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I love how you felt something as you noticed that woman so you naturally knew you would write about it. A writer move for sure. Congrats on a great month!! It is for you but doing it as a community levels it up a bit! I’ll look for you on Tuesdays and next year.
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Your work makes this month so much fun to read and be a part of- while I didn’t write this year, I thoroughly enjoyed your writing!
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It’s sad- so you know you have to write it.
Beautiful ending, so well put.
I have truly enjoyed being your fan this month.I started reading you last year and sought you out this year. I have so enjoyed your sharing your place, family, heart.
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Tiny gifts to our future selves… so perfect and so true. Those fleeting moments with our kids- captured here for always.
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So much depth in your final slice, when a physical moment draws you into all kinds of memories and thoughts of what was and is to come. Beautifully written!
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So much truth and heart here. Yes, it IS ourselves we are writing for, but you’re right. It’s nice to have the company along the way. And this line: “what we have done here is packaged up and presented tiny gifts to our future selves.” Beautiful.
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