A New Year and a New Word

We did not usher in the new year with much fanfare. The fact that we are still recovering from being unwell meant that most of us were already in bed sleeping when the new year began. Truthfully, I was happy to get a good night sleep after a rough week of nightly wakings to treat fevers and raspy breathing. I will admit that it wasn’t the way I had imagined the end of the year to unfold and I would be lying if I didn’t say it made me feel a little sad that we were so unwell during our family gathering. Yet, I am grateful that we gathered. Despite being sick there was still joy and laughter, followed by a symphony of hacking coughs. There was a constant supply of tea and usually a movie or two to get us through the day. Now we are finally on the mend, and everyone but my brother left this morning.

The new year has begun. When I think back on the last year, I feel so blessed. Yes there were struggles, times of suffering, sadness and stress but I cannot ignore the many joys and blessings that we, as a family, were given. And so while reflecting on our experiences I am grateful, and I look forward to what this new year will bring.

For the last few years I have chosen a word to remind myself to live life in a special way. My words for the last three years have been cherish (2011), embrace (2012) and patience (2013). This year no word was immediately forthcoming, but after some thought and looking at a few words on an online thesaurus I discovered a word. My word for 2014 is delight. I almost feel guilty picking a word like delight and perhaps that is a reason in itself to choose it. This year I want to find delight in small and big things, the wonderful and even the difficult. I want to step back, scale back and remind myself to discover or rediscover delight.