Choosing A Word for the Year

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I had never heard of choosing a word for the year until I read a recent post on Chelsea’s blog. While she hasn’t divulged her word for the year (yet) it got me thinking about what word I would choose for myself. I scanned a few blogs to get some ideas of words others chose for 2011. While it was interesting to read what they wrote I didn’t find any word that spoke directly to my heart.

As the new year rolled around Hubby and I put aside some time to discuss things we want to work on for this coming year. We did not orchestrate any grande detailed plans but simply looked at ways to continue living out our priorities in life. When I look back on 2010 there are many things I am very grateful for: the birth of our beautiful daughter, the graduation of a brother, the celebration of an anniversary, visits with family and friends from afar and much love and laughter.

But 2010 also presented some challenges for me, as I’m sure it did for everyone else. The thing I struggled with the most in 2010 was, put simply: Monkey. Monkey is a very busy boy. By far the busiest of all his cousins. In fact, I have yet to meet another little guy his age that I can confidently say is busier than Monkey. Although, I do know a few other boys that are as busy. Monkey is a healthy boyish boy. He has a brave adventurous spirit and is extremely resilient. This last year his boyancy has been a challenge. Finding a balance between letting him explore and learn while keeping him safe and disciplined has been very difficult. Over the year I kept catching myself oscillating between hoping for this crazy stage to end and fearing that it won’t. But please know that I love my rambunctious boy dearly.

As I reflected on our last year together a word came to my mind: Cherish. I want to cherish Monkey and the moments we have together. This is something that is very important to me. I am coming to realize that I need to purposefully step away from what I’m doing to cherish moments with him and with the rest of my family. Otherwise these special times will slip by unnoticed and all I’ll remember are the challenges.