2015 Word of the Year
The ringing in of the new year means just one thing to me as a blogger - that it is time for me pick a new Word of the Year!!
Last year's word - treasure - served me well all year. I posted the word all around my house, and each time I saw it, I was reminded that no matter what life was sending me at that particular moment, I needed to treasure what meant the most to me. And throughout the year, I consciously noted what those things were.
I treasure my family. I am so proud to be allowed the pleasure of being mommy to two fantastic little girls. They continue to, daily, teach me lessons that usually slap me across the face. Or test my patience. Or reinforce how I like to count to 5. I am also proud of my continuing role as life partner to Handy Hubby. Some days, that sentence would be almost impossible to write, but through every single up and down of our marriage, he is still the man I want as my last sight of the day and the first one at the beginning of each new one.
I treasure Handy Hubby's job. It has allowed me the privilege of working at the hardest job I have had yet - stay-at-home mom, but more than that, it is a job that Handy Hubby very much enjoys. In the past, I have watched him struggle through days, weeks, months and years enduring jobs that he has detested. It robbed him of his self-esteem, it took a toll on his health and he lost his zest for life that had been such an attractive quality in him. He became a shell of a man. I pitied that man, but I very much like this version.
I treasure my health. I have been through some very trying and exerting sicknesses in my past and when you lose your healthful vigor, it becomes very hard to reassert your lease on life. This past year, I have learned to treasure the sicknesses that brought me down as they served as a reminder of what I had lost and must fight to regain. There are so many people in our world that have been handed an expiration date on their lives due to an unseen illness. They would give anything to be able to return to a normal life. I have that and I treasure it. I also have all of my limbs and they all work as they should. My mind is sharp and clear. More things to treasure.
I treasure the house I live in. This may come across as sounding arrogant, but hear me out. There are so many people struggling financially that to them, a roof over their heads is a luxury. I have a beautiful house that I love and I do my best to not take that for granted. One slight step further, I also treasure the cars Handy Hubby and I own, allowing us freedom. Freedom to quickly run to the grocery store, freedom to drive my children to a doctors' appointment, freedom to easily commute to work.
I treasure those I call friends. I enjoy the simple pleasures of their companionship, whether that means having dinner together, speaking by phone or email, grabbing a coffee or just knowing that in a moment of crises, they would be there to lend a helping hand.
These are just a few of the things I have treasured during the year 2014. As important as they are to me, I am looking forward to living with my pick for 2015. It was not an easy pick. I came up with a list of five words - all great contenders. I mulled over each one. Almost every day I felt I had a winner - one that I could easily call mine for the next year. The next morning though, it just didn't feel right, didn't feel like enough of a challenge, or just didn't fit into the framework of my life. When it did finally come to me, I knew instantly it would be the right challenge for me. Once chosen, I would have to live up to it each and every day.
My Word of the Year is not actually a word. It is a phrase. If I could sum up this short phrase into just one word, I would. But as I couldn't seem to find that word, my phrase will have to stand on its own.
"Go With the Flow"
I'm sure as you read that, you may say to yourself 'that's not too hard to live by'. You may be right. In some sense, life forces you do just that. But for me, 'Go With the Flow' is a concept I have spent a lifetime fighting tooth and nail against.
I am a control freak with slight OCD tendencies. If the situation is controllable, you better believe I am all over it. I have built my life around things and situations I am able to control. But since I have become a parent, this phrase has taken on special meaning. Special meaning that I am just starting to recognize and grasp for an understanding of.
Oldest Daughter cannot stand being told what to do. She is constantly asking (with tears of course) why I am bossing her around. This conversation will always include the phrases 'you are being so mean to me' and 'I don't understand why you don't like me'. These words do not bother me. She knows I love her. But the cycle always begins when I give an order, followed by her digging in her heels. If what I ask of her is reasonable (such as 'please put your drawing pads back in the playroom'), she will grumble under her breath but do it. If she feels that I am infringing on her rights as a kid though, yelling will commence, tears will flow and sometimes items are thrown.
'Go With the Flow' means to me that I need to lighten up with her a bit. Temper tantrums are never tolerated, but stepping back and understanding what triggered the tantrum can allow the flow to keep, oh I don't know, flowing.
Examples of things I can loosen my grip on:
* Do the clothes she just put on for school match? Nope. But I am going to allow her to wear it because it was her choice, she feels good in the outfit, which means she can carry it off.
* Do I think the way she has rearranged her bedroom make it look incredibly messy, making me twitch uncontrollably? Yep. But I will refrain from coming in and making it orderly after she leaves for school. Instead I will celebrate her inner interior decorator.
* Do I want to scoop up all of the fairy houses she has built in the backyard and has scattered to every nook and cranny? You bet I want to recycle each and every one of them. But I will keep my hands off of them and only silently hope the dog notices them and chooses them to become her new chew toy.
"Go With the Flow" for me means allowing Oldest Daughter to grow into her independence. It means me backing up and giving her the space to explore that new inch I have given her. It means allowing myself to celebrate this little person and each one of her quirks. Yes, I will have to soften my hold of my domain, in the small world that is my comfort zone. This will be a challenge indeed.
What is your Word of the Year? Shoot me a line - I would love to hear your word and why you chose it. JCMT
*If you would like to revisit last years post on my 2014 Word of the Year, you can find it here.
Last year's word - treasure - served me well all year. I posted the word all around my house, and each time I saw it, I was reminded that no matter what life was sending me at that particular moment, I needed to treasure what meant the most to me. And throughout the year, I consciously noted what those things were.
I treasure my family. I am so proud to be allowed the pleasure of being mommy to two fantastic little girls. They continue to, daily, teach me lessons that usually slap me across the face. Or test my patience. Or reinforce how I like to count to 5. I am also proud of my continuing role as life partner to Handy Hubby. Some days, that sentence would be almost impossible to write, but through every single up and down of our marriage, he is still the man I want as my last sight of the day and the first one at the beginning of each new one.
I treasure Handy Hubby's job. It has allowed me the privilege of working at the hardest job I have had yet - stay-at-home mom, but more than that, it is a job that Handy Hubby very much enjoys. In the past, I have watched him struggle through days, weeks, months and years enduring jobs that he has detested. It robbed him of his self-esteem, it took a toll on his health and he lost his zest for life that had been such an attractive quality in him. He became a shell of a man. I pitied that man, but I very much like this version.
I treasure my health. I have been through some very trying and exerting sicknesses in my past and when you lose your healthful vigor, it becomes very hard to reassert your lease on life. This past year, I have learned to treasure the sicknesses that brought me down as they served as a reminder of what I had lost and must fight to regain. There are so many people in our world that have been handed an expiration date on their lives due to an unseen illness. They would give anything to be able to return to a normal life. I have that and I treasure it. I also have all of my limbs and they all work as they should. My mind is sharp and clear. More things to treasure.
I treasure the house I live in. This may come across as sounding arrogant, but hear me out. There are so many people struggling financially that to them, a roof over their heads is a luxury. I have a beautiful house that I love and I do my best to not take that for granted. One slight step further, I also treasure the cars Handy Hubby and I own, allowing us freedom. Freedom to quickly run to the grocery store, freedom to drive my children to a doctors' appointment, freedom to easily commute to work.
I treasure those I call friends. I enjoy the simple pleasures of their companionship, whether that means having dinner together, speaking by phone or email, grabbing a coffee or just knowing that in a moment of crises, they would be there to lend a helping hand.
These are just a few of the things I have treasured during the year 2014. As important as they are to me, I am looking forward to living with my pick for 2015. It was not an easy pick. I came up with a list of five words - all great contenders. I mulled over each one. Almost every day I felt I had a winner - one that I could easily call mine for the next year. The next morning though, it just didn't feel right, didn't feel like enough of a challenge, or just didn't fit into the framework of my life. When it did finally come to me, I knew instantly it would be the right challenge for me. Once chosen, I would have to live up to it each and every day.
My Word of the Year is not actually a word. It is a phrase. If I could sum up this short phrase into just one word, I would. But as I couldn't seem to find that word, my phrase will have to stand on its own.
"Go With the Flow"
I'm sure as you read that, you may say to yourself 'that's not too hard to live by'. You may be right. In some sense, life forces you do just that. But for me, 'Go With the Flow' is a concept I have spent a lifetime fighting tooth and nail against.
I am a control freak with slight OCD tendencies. If the situation is controllable, you better believe I am all over it. I have built my life around things and situations I am able to control. But since I have become a parent, this phrase has taken on special meaning. Special meaning that I am just starting to recognize and grasp for an understanding of.
Oldest Daughter cannot stand being told what to do. She is constantly asking (with tears of course) why I am bossing her around. This conversation will always include the phrases 'you are being so mean to me' and 'I don't understand why you don't like me'. These words do not bother me. She knows I love her. But the cycle always begins when I give an order, followed by her digging in her heels. If what I ask of her is reasonable (such as 'please put your drawing pads back in the playroom'), she will grumble under her breath but do it. If she feels that I am infringing on her rights as a kid though, yelling will commence, tears will flow and sometimes items are thrown.
'Go With the Flow' means to me that I need to lighten up with her a bit. Temper tantrums are never tolerated, but stepping back and understanding what triggered the tantrum can allow the flow to keep, oh I don't know, flowing.
Examples of things I can loosen my grip on:
* Do the clothes she just put on for school match? Nope. But I am going to allow her to wear it because it was her choice, she feels good in the outfit, which means she can carry it off.
* Do I think the way she has rearranged her bedroom make it look incredibly messy, making me twitch uncontrollably? Yep. But I will refrain from coming in and making it orderly after she leaves for school. Instead I will celebrate her inner interior decorator.
* Do I want to scoop up all of the fairy houses she has built in the backyard and has scattered to every nook and cranny? You bet I want to recycle each and every one of them. But I will keep my hands off of them and only silently hope the dog notices them and chooses them to become her new chew toy.
"Go With the Flow" for me means allowing Oldest Daughter to grow into her independence. It means me backing up and giving her the space to explore that new inch I have given her. It means allowing myself to celebrate this little person and each one of her quirks. Yes, I will have to soften my hold of my domain, in the small world that is my comfort zone. This will be a challenge indeed.
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| Guess who just lost her first front tooth? |
*If you would like to revisit last years post on my 2014 Word of the Year, you can find it here.
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