In the early morning hours, too early to get out of bed, during a regular bout of insomnia, I scrolled through social media and this TikTok video came across my feed. This creator regularly posts writing prompts and a challenge to create something from the answers you come up with. Although the video was posted a few days ago, I just saw it this morning, so I thought it was a sign that I should create a Slice. Here are the questions for today:

What is a quality you find attractive in other people (emotional or physical)? a sense of humor

What is a color you are wearing right now? black

If you could be one place in the world other than where you are right this second, where do you wish you could be? someplace warm, on a beach, like Playa del Carmen or Oahu

If you were a beverage, what beverage would you be? Topo Chico

Who do you miss right now? my husband

This morning I sit at the dining table, alone, drinking my coffee and sneaking in my writing before finishing up work from the week. While it’s peaceful, and I’ve already gotten a load of laundry going before 7:00 am on a Saturday, I really miss my husband. If he were right now, we might be out hiking or eating a much more elaborate breakfast than the leftovers I ate earlier. We’d both be in our black hoodies reflecting a little bit of the darkness in our personalities and hiding the actual joy we have for life. But I also would be worrying about my to-do list that would be left undone until…later. Later.

Don’t worry, nothing bad’s happened to him; we just sometimes live in different houses depending on what’s happening during the week. You see, we met a bit later in life, and by the time we became a couple, we had already each owned our own homes. I didn’t want to give up my house because, 1) my stepkids still live in my husband’s house, and not living with them is part of why I think I have a good relationship with them; and 2) my mom always said, after my divorce, my house was my insurance policy in case anything ever happened–at least I’d have a house. Our houses are a little less than 30 miles away from each other and in Southern California, we always joke that we’re in a long distance relationship. Sometimes it really helps to have a sense of humor about things like this.

So this morning my husband is off chaperoning a school trip in a city closer to his house and I’m in my house getting things done that I may not have if he was here to distract me. And I really need to stay on top of my work for the next couple of weeks; it’s almost spring break and I want to arrive in Playa del Carmen without a care in the world. Oooh, thinking about that right now has me bubbling up inside, like a bottle of Topo Chico.