My word for the year is renewal. In my post, 2017 is the Year for New Beginnings, I wrote about how I needed to take care of myself, reconnect with who I’ve always wanted to be, renew relationships and remove clutter in order to unfold and begin again. We’re halfway through the year now, time for revisiting my word of the year.
The Struggles
I admit, there were some ups and downs as I struggled with downsizing and selling my condo. I was dragging feet and sometimes acting like a child. I’d pack one thing and then go sit for an hour. Then I realized that I was having a hard time letting go because this was my first big purchase after my divorce. I’d been through so much prior to that moment and being able to buy my own place was a huge moment in life.
Once I took the time to reflect on that and acknowledge how far I’ve come, I was able to move on and be less of a child during the packing process. Writing about it in Why Is It So Hard To Leave really helped.
It didn’t stop the anxiety on moving day, but I’m sure a lot of people go through that when they’re moving. What Happens When You Move Back Home is a little glimpse into my moving day anxieties.
During this entire time, I was waiting, working and supporting others while we watched our call center close. Tough to be out of a job after working with the same people for the last twenty-five years. A Lifetime of Work by the Numbers shared my time with that company.
The Highlights
Renewal for me was also about self-care, looking forward to the future, and of course, vacation time. This year, we decided to take an extended vacation. It included our first cruise, a trip to Cuba, a day spent swimming in the Bahamas and plenty of relaxation. While there were several posts about our vacation, I think How To Check Something Off Your Bucket List is a great description of how to go with the flow and have fun.
Meditation is a great way to do a daily renewal. It helps in Clearing Out the Clutter in My Mind. If you haven’t tried meditation yet, this post gives some options on how to get started.
Do You Know How to Take Care of Yourself talks about the importance of self-care and gives 5 suggestions on free ways to do that. It’s a reminder that there are times when we need to put ourselves first in order to be in shape and ready to put others first. The two go hand in hand. Put the oxygen mask on yourself first.
Do you have a word of the year? How have you been following the path of your word?
My word is NO. It’s a tough one for me because I’ve been people pleasing forever. I have my ups and downs with it but I keep seeing articles, blog posts and lectures that nudge me back onto the bumpy road of saying no. At 61, maybe we have 30 years left and they may not be 30 healthy years (but we can try!). So it really is time to say no and take control of time we cannot ever get back. Hope things are going well for you – I do think of you when I have parent moments and wonder how you are finding things looking after your mum.
Gilly, thanks so much for stopping by. Things with my Mother are settling in a bit. I imagine it’s like amateurs preparing a show. A bit of crashing around during the early rehearsals, but gets smoother as they keep working at it. Guess that describes most relationships.
Hi Jennifer! Good for you in overcoming the ‘down’ side of life and the cruise sounded just what you needed. I love your word for the year – because we can renew at any time. My word is ‘simplify’ and I think I am finally starting to achieve that by taking pressure off myself to be everything to everyone. Have a beautiful day and I agree self care is so important for us.
Sue from Sizzling Towards 60 & Beyond
I love the word simplify as well. I think in the process of renewing….I was simplifying.
I don’t really have a word of the year, but it seems to be about new experiences… some good, some bad. I want to have several ‘firsts’ this year, so I am all about planning and goal setting.
I’m all about trying new things. Going to Cuba not only was new but the cruise there was also my first cruise.
So much pisitive stuff to take from this post!!!
Good post Jennifer and some of these comments are also thought provoking. Loved the idea of revisiting your word of the year too. Perspective is the key thing each time. maybe stepping away from current thoughts and looking at them differently. Easy to sigh and let things drag you down, not quite so easy to say “Hey, this has happened so stop moping and think of all the new challenges ahead.”
Trying new things is a very good habit too; washes away old cobwebs and brings out that new experience feeling. Love the words here too; simplify, renewal, taking control.
Really hope you are finding things improving and thank you for sharing this 🙂
Thanks for stopping by Gary. Sometimes it’s so easy to get stuck in the day to day that we forget to look at home far we’ve come. This review post really helped me to put thinks in perspective.
Recognising that is the first part of moving forwards. Getting stuck in a rut is no fun at all…hmm, I almost went into Dr Seuss rhyming mode…have you read “Oh The Places you will go” wonderful motivation verse…. Short extract…
Except when you don’t
Because, sometimes, you won’t.
I’m sorry to say so
but, sadly, it’s true
and Hang-ups
can happen to you.
You can get all hung up
in a prickle-ly perch.
And your gang will fly on.
You’ll be left in a Lurch.
You’ll come down from the Lurch
with an unpleasant bump.
And the chances are, then,
that you’ll be in a Slump.
And when you’re in a Slump,
you’re not in for much fun.
Un-slumping yourself
is not easily done
I cut my teeth on Seuss books and reread them until they fell apart. I saw your first two lines and thought Dr. Seuss before I read what came next. Hahaha
Haha, I visited them with my own kids at bedtime way back! This one stuck because he really nailed the process in the verse above. I must read it more often and take heed!!!!!
I just gave a high school graduate a card that referenced “Oh The Places You Will Go.” I’m sure he got a dozen more just like it plus several copies of the book. It seems to be the gift for graduates nowadays.
Haha, at least I can say I read them before they were “in vogue” then 🙂 They are good stories mind and my kids loved them. Read Cat in the Hat to my eldest hundreds of times!
Does that mean you are the vogue that we’ve all followed in order to be in?
Never thought of it like that now you mention it….nah, I was just struck by it is all lol
Inspiring and encouraging post. But about half way through reading it I suddenly felt very guilty. Although I could remember my word of the year for last year (which was ‘now – appreciating the moment-type thing), it took me a while to remember this year’s – ‘kind’ (be kind to myself, to others). So thanks for the wake-up call; I’ll be paying more attention to this for the second half of the year!
Thanks, Ruth. Being kind to oneself is a very hard thing for people to do. Women, especially, have long been taught to take care of others first, so I’m not surprised you forgot the word….you were taking care of others. There’s a reason why airplanes tell parents to put the oxygen mask on themselves first. Being kind to yourself first helps you to be kind to others.
I don’t really have a word of the year… But if I think of one to describe my year so far, I think it’d be ‘exploring’. My husband and I started the year with a long distance walk exploring the English countryside… And now we’ve moved to Canada, every day is an exploration!!
Well done with your big move!! 🙂
Wow. That really is exploring! You walked all the way from England to Canada. LOL
Self care is so important though I’ll be the first to admit I don’t do enough of it. As for the year, I feel like I didn’t make strides till just recently. Almost like something clicked?? I don’t know. I just spent 4 hours today purging my closet and armoires (which will be tomorrow’s blog post).
We all tend to put self care on the back burner no matter how important it is. And congrats on tackling the closet. It’s a difficult job. I try to keep on top of it by purging my clothes seasonally. If I haven’t worn it in the past year it gets donated.
You are so organized!
Dang! I remember seeing a bunch of posts about choosing a word of the year, and I meant to do it… guess my word would be, “forgetful.” *grin* In all seriousness, I really like the concept, and I know better late than never, so I’ll have to give this some more thought. In the meantime, it sounds like you’re really embracing your excellent word choice, and I hope things continue to renew for you during the rest of the year.
This was my third attempt to participate. Previously, I’d forgot about it until about March or April. Oops.
I don’t have a word of the year, but it seems like a really good idea to have something to concentrate on. That holiday sounds totally amazing!
Our holiday really was totally amazing. The only disappointment was the food. For some reason we could not pick a good restaurant on this trip.