My Two Writing Teachers colleagues and I are hosting the 16th Annual March Slice of Life Story Challenge, in which teachers from around the world participate by posting a story per day.

This year, the SOLSC gives me a chance to record memories of our little dog, Indie, who died in January. I want to write these down while they are still fresh, so that my family and I can read them later and remember not only Indie, but little slices of life across the years.

At lunchtime on March 5th, about two months after Indie died, I went cross-country skiing at the town park just down the road from my house. On the way I stopped at a little bench in front of an old stone wall with a view of Mt. Mansfield in the distance. Sitting on the old stone wall were three little snowmen.

They were just like our family, but missing me, and Indie. So I stopped, hesitated and it felt a little silly, but I made a fourth snowman for me. And a small little snowman for Indie. I added little stick arms for me, just like the other three. I added four little stick legs, and a tail, for Indie.

I took a photo of them to make them last. Just as I skied four or five strides away, the snowman of myself fell apart. I thought about continuing on and leaving the snowman-version of myself that way, but I didn’t. I went back, fixed it up, and added a little heart. Why not?

I thought about how maybe I could fix myself up.

I thought maybe I could recreate different versions of myself, and Indie, and all the people I’ve loved and lost whenever I needed.