Monday, December 29, 2008

One Word

On Friday, the snow had melted just enough for us to get out. And what a relief it was! Saturday we took down the Christmas tree and Sunday I sat down to think about my One Word for 2009.

I first read about the One Little Word project on Ali Edwards blog. The intention is to pick a single word for the year instead of a bunch of New Year resolutions and goals. For 2008 my word was create.

When I blogged on January 1 2008 I wrote,
I want to create healthy meals for my family.
I want to create learning opportunities for Kylie.
I want to create playful days and funny days; loving days and peaceful days.
I want to create beautiful photos and scrapbook pages.
I could go on and on but you get the point.


In taking stock of the year, I can see that I did all of these things.
Kylie is healthy, happy, loving, learning like crazy and having fun.
Karen and I have a wonderful relationship that gets deeper each year.
I made healthy meals but not as many new menu items as I wanted.
I started running Sept. 15th and ran 4-6 times a week, 2-3 miles each time for a total of 157 miles by Dec 15.
I dropped a few pounds and a size (not as much as I wanted but I'll take it).
And of course, there was the creation of thousands of photos and 137 scrapbook pages documenting our lives.

Overall, I'm pleased. The word CREATE has seeped deep into the marrow of my bones.

For 2009, I've picked the word CHOOSE..

And just like create, I'm sure this word's meaning for me will evolve over time.

For right now, I'll simply say:
I choose to be attentive to our family's budget,
I choose to be more constant in upkeep of our home (like I really need to caulk our crown moldings and clean up our gas grill and cut back the rose bushes, stuff like that).
I choose to play, play, play with Kylie.
I choose to keep running.
I choose to learn some Spanish.
I choose to learn more about my camera, more about Photoshop and continue with my scrapbooking.
And I choose to keep on creating.

Suddenly, becoming more intentional about what I choose to do with my time, attention, energy and resources has never looked more important or more liberating and fun.

If you would like to play along with the One Word Project, I'd love to read what your one word will be.
You can find a list of words here.
Read more about the One Word Project here and here.

"A single word can be a powerful thing. It can be the ripple in the pond that changes everything. It can be sharp and biting or rich and soft and slow." Ali Edwards.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I appreciate how your year reflected your chosen word. After reading the list I was torn between two words "authentic" and "implement". Authentic speaks to may need to be impeccably honest with with words and deeds. And implement offers an opportnity to stop searching for the "ONE" perfect way to be and practice what I have already leaned. CRose

Kerry Lynn said...

I'll say you most certainly came through with create.
And I love choose. It's like they're not chores when you word them that way (not that playing with Kylie is a chore :-) )