March Slice of Life Story Writing: Day 31 of 31 / Lasts

Lasts

Because today is the finale of the 2014 March Slice of Life Story Writing Challenge, I am thinking about last times. I could write about my last run in Auckland, my last road trip with my dad, saying goodbye to my students the last time I was a classroom teacher.

Today, I think I will write about the last lunch my husband and I had before becoming parents.

At the hospital, they said, your water broke, but you aren't yet in labor. Go have lunch.

Feeling slightly befuddled and dizzy, we wandered out of the hospital and into the world. People walked by us on the street, and I'm sure they saw a man and a clearly pregnant woman walking along together, but I'm not sure they knew we were hours from becoming parents.

We walked up and down a few blocks, not sure where to go, before stumbling upon a cafe. Should we order coffees? We mused. We might need them. I chose the crostini, my husband the salad.

What did we talk about? Who knows. There was everything to say and nothing all at once. So we made small talk, perhaps commenting on the good service, the rich crema of the espresso, the well-thought-out combination of flavors in the crostini. We might have held hands across the table for a moment.

That was the last time it was just the two of us. Because then, we returned to the hospital. And after many hours, we became three.

And that, is a story for another day.

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Thank you to everyone who participated in the Slice of Life Writing Challenge this month, and to everyone's thoughtful and encouraging comments. I feel so lucky to be part of this community. And I can hardly believe all that I learned from writing every day! Well, that is a blog post for another day. Happy Slicing!