Word of the Year

Have you guys heard about the “one word concept”?  I read about it on a couple of blogs and thought that I would try it this year.  Basically, you choose one word to focus your year around rather than picking New Year’s resolutions.  This is a word to reflect on throughout the year – it can serve as a guide for how you want to live, how you want to spend your time, a reminder of what is important to you.     

After giving it a lot of thought, I decided that my word for 2013 is going to be present. 

I want to use this year to live in the present.  I want to thoroughly enjoy the moment.  I will use my word to refocus on the now rather than living in the past or the future.   

In college I used to have a countdown to the end of the school year.  I would be looking forward to the summer when I would be free of classes, of commitments, of laundry duty.  I would cross off each day with a big red X.  Then one day my roommate mentioned that she hated countdowns because they made each day seem insignificant until the big day.  At the time I didn’t pay much attention to this and kept crossing off my days.  But I have never forgotten what she said and it means so much more to me today than it did back then. 

On the other hand, I also have a tendency to look back on days with regret that they have passed by so fast.  I will be in the middle of a vacation that I have been looking forward to (maybe even counting down to) and I stay up at night worrying that I have already lost three days.  I will be so worried about those three days that I forget that we still have four days left to enjoy.    

This year, I will try to give up countdowns.  I will try to give up sleepless nights of wondering where the time has gone.  I will live in the present.

What is your word of 2013?  I would love for you to join in and share!

And since I have been so busy living in the present, I forgot to post New Year’s Eve pictures :)  Here is a look back on how we started off 2013 – the year of being present!

The visit started with good beer.

Continued with a birthday celebration.

And with a trip to Railhouse Brewery

Happy 2013!  So happy that we were able to celebrate with family

Sisters!

The men in the kitchen (where they belong;))

The newlyweds.  Love them!

The not-so-newlyweds